A cclaimed for his depiction of animated paintings and sculptures of humanoid creatures that inhabit a liminal space between physiological and spiritual realms, Izumi Kato’s Untitled (diptych) (2015) is an archetypal example from the artist. Amongst the largest works by the artist to be offered at auction, Untitled (diptych) features multiple figures within an eerie landscape, an exceedingly rare composition within the artist’s oeuvre. Expanding across two planes, the present work is a cocktail of fluid colours, cascading and flowing across the faces of the artist's depictions. Animating his compositions with his imaginative subject matter and use of pigment, Kato imbues a spiritual essence to compositions. As the artist states, ‘Shintoism, Buddhism, and Animism are all mixed in my hometown. I am influenced by my upbringing, where everything has a life of its own,’ (the artist, quoted in “Izumi Kato’s haunting humanoids turn heads in New York ”, Wallpaper, 14 March 2021, online). Throughout the artist’s career, Kato’s artistic idiom has evolved to synthesise stylistic influences from African totems and Jōmon period clay puppets whilst taking inspiration from the Gutai methodology in his idiosyncratic creation process—applying pigment on canvas with his hands. Furthermore, much of Kato’s recent figurative works stem from the animist belief from the Japanese Shinto tradition that spiritual forces inhabit all things in the living world. Exhibited at the artist’s critically acclaimed solo exhibition at Perrotin, New York, in 2016, Untitled (diptych) is a captivating example of Kato’s eerie yet enchanting compositions.

Kato uses organic lines and dark tonal hues to depict a scene of mystifying humanoid figures that possess equivalently primitive and futuristic qualities in the present work. Kato’s practice of using elementary forms and rich contrasting colours is evident in the present work—fluid colours cradle the hazy, piercing eyes of the figures. The four figures depicted possess an ominous, otherworldly quality and demonstrate a duality teetering between a sci-fi future and ancient past, the masculine and feminine, the endearing and unsightly. Depicted in shades of orange, green, pink and earthy hues, the artist’s signature embryo-like forms are enveloped in what seems like an amniotic sac. Kato’s signature motif is aided by his technique of smoothly slathering colours over the canvas, the oil-like colours shifting in tones with the artist’s own distinctive style of painting. In the present work, Kato enchants the zany creature in ethereal shades of green and yellowish tones, almost blushing in shades of pink and green which burst forward from the canvas against the darkness of the backdrop. These figures exemplify the early stages of human life, sparking off sensations of comfort, warmth and expectation. Drawing familiarity to a womb-like foundation, Untitled (diptych) revels in Kato’s uncanny ability to blur reality and fiction.

Izumi Kato was born in 1969 in the Shimane Prefecture, located on the southwest coast of Japan. One of the primary reasons tourists travel there is to visit Izumo-taisha (Izumo Grand Shrine), which many scholars and historians now believe is the oldest Shinto temple in Japan. Shinto is a polytheistic religion that is centred on kami (spirits or sacred essences), who reside in all things. This belief in the living nature of all things, from stones to toys, is one of the underlying forces running through Kato’s work. His diverse practice, which encompassed sculpture, painting and craftwork, eschews traditional tools, with Kato foregoing the paintbrush in favour of his hands, dappling colour onto his canvases in the way of dots and lines. His technique is almost primal, bearing a likeness to cave paintings, whilst also recalling the figuration of Francis Bacon.

《無 題（雙聯作）》（2015年作）以生動的繪畫及雕塑描繪居住在生理及精神領域之間的人形生物，是加藤泉備受讚譽的典型作品。本作是拍場上最巨型的加藤泉作品之一，在怪誕的風景中加入多個人像，在其作品中屬於極其罕見的構圖。本作跨越兩個平面，混合各種流動的色彩，層疊於畫中主角的臉上。加藤泉以富有想像力的主題及顏料使用，賦予作品動感與精神本質。正如畫家本人所言：「在我的家鄉，神道教、佛教和泛靈論早已混然如一，所有事物都各自擁有生命，這樣的成長環境對我影響甚深。」（引述加藤泉，錄於〈加藤泉的神秘類人生物驚艷紐約〉，《Wallpaper》，2021年3月14日，網上）加藤泉的藝術風格在整個職業生涯中不斷演變，綜合非洲圖騰和繩紋時期泥偶的風格影響，並從具體方法論中汲取靈感，應用於其獨特創作過程——用手在畫布上塗抹顏料。此外，加藤泉近期的許多具像作品，都源於日本神道傳統的泛靈信仰，即人間萬物皆有精神力量寄存其中。2016 年，加藤泉在紐約貝浩登舉辦的個展廣受好評，《無題（雙聯作）》正是一個引人入勝的例子，正好體現出其作品的詭異與迷人之處。

藝術家使用有機線條和暗色調，描繪畫中兼具原始與未來特質的神秘人形生物。他使用基本形狀與豐富對比色彩的習慣，在本作中表露無遺——流動的色彩包覆著人像朦朧銳利的眼睛。加藤泉所描繪的四個人像均具備不祥、超自然的品質，體現科幻未來與古老過去、男性與女性、可愛與醜陋之間的二元性。他以橙、綠、粉紅及泥土色調描繪其標誌性的胚胎形狀，並包覆於貌似羊膜的囊中。他在畫布上平滑塗抹色彩的技巧，亦有助彰顯其招牌圖案，油性色彩亦會隨著他的獨特繪畫風格而變化。加藤泉在畫中以空靈的綠黃色為這隻滑稽的生物加上魔幻色彩，在黑暗背景下從畫布上突然出現的粉綠色調，近呈紅粉緋緋之狀。這些人像代表人類生命的早期階段，綻放出舒適、溫暖、期待的感覺。《無題（雙聯作）》讓人想起母親的子宮 ，同時又將現實與幻想的界線變得模糊，展露了加藤泉的獨特奇才。

1969 年，加藤泉出生於日本西南海岸的島根縣。當地最吸引遊客的景點之一是出雲大社，許多學者與歷史學家均認為該處是日本最古老的神道寺廟。神道教為多神宗教，以存在於萬物之中的「神靈」為中心，堅信石頭、玩具等一切事物皆有生命，是貫穿加藤泉作品的基本思想。加藤泉作品多元，涵蓋雕塑、繪畫及手工藝品，他避免使用傳統工具，放棄畫筆轉用雙手，以點、線的方式為畫布塗上斑駁的色彩。他的技術十分原始，與洞穴壁畫十分相似，同時令人聯想起弗朗西斯・培根的形象。