鉄を素材として、​ガス溶接・溶断技法を用いた独自の表現手法により、空間に鉄のドローイングを想起させる抽象彫刻を制作する。約1500度の高温で鉄を溶かし、その物質的変容の過程に、鉄本来の「輪郭なき美」を追い求めている。

　2015年から彫刻制作と並行して、岐阜県の伝統工芸品である美濃手すき和紙を支持体に、鉄粉・鉄錆・純金箔などの金属素材を用いた平面制作を行う。

 

　かたち在るものが古美てゆく幽玄、華麗と枯淡──相反する儚さがゆるやかに溶け合う「虚」の空間を創出する。

 

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Mai Kato was born in 1992 in Gifu, Japan. Kato graduated from Tama Art University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in sculpture. She became a top graduate of the graduate school of the same university in 2020 and is a member of the Japan Artists Federation.

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With steel, Kato creates works that explore the notion of “things that change and that which remains unchanged” in time. Through a unique method of gas welding, cutting processes, and the use of acetylene (a combustible gas) and oxygen, Kato produces sculptures reminiscent of iron drawings in space. In 2015, the artist began creating two-dimensional works (drawings and paintings) with metallic materials such as iron powder, iron rust, and pure gold leaf on hand-made Mino Washi paper, a traditional Japanese paper from Gifu Prefecture. Through her art, Kato aspires to create a space in which contradictory transiences, such as beauty and decay, splendor and simplicity, may coexist.

 

By fusing Japanese tradition and innovation, expression and technology, the artist seeks the prospect of creating new values in metal sculpture.