[ MAUKA-MAKAI ]
"Bird and Surf."
Tadashi Sato's art was eye-catching even back in the third grade. He won first prize in a Territory of Hawaii poster contest while attending Kamehameha III Elementary School. He spent his award, a then-sizable $2.50, on a tennis racket from Japan that was made out of bamboo. Sato’s lifetime of art on display
A retrospective at the Contemporary
Museum shows the full range
of the renowned isle artistBy nancy arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.comToday, Sato is considered one of Hawaii's most accomplished artists, whose work -- abstract compositions of geometric shapes and images drawn from nature -- commands thousands of dollars. Many of his pieces spanning 55 years have been gathered from public, private, corporate and museum collections in a retrospective at the Contemporary Museum.
Sato was born in 1923 in Kaupakulua, Maui, to Yone, who arrived from Japan to work on the pineapple plantations, and Tadao, who worked as a butler for the Von Tempski family.
The images in Tadashi Sato's paintings are often derived from nature. Such is the case in "Rock and Twig."
"I never thought I'd be an artist," said a humble Sato. As the eldest of six children, he was expected to help support the family rather than go to college or pursue a career. At Lahainaluna High he had put his artistic abilities to work on the school yearbook and created diplomas in Old English script by hand, but when he graduated in 1941, he headed straight to Baldwin Packers' pineapple factory to work.
During World War II, Sato served in the 442nd Regiment, translating and duplicating maps by using his skills as a cartographer. Able to read and write in Japanese, he was also recruited to conduct interviews with Japanese POWs.
After returning from the war in 1946, Sato used the G.I. Bill to attend classes at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Sato credits New York artist Ralston Crawford with much of his early success. "He really took me under his wing," Sato said. "He even arranged a scholarship for me in New York at the Brooklyn Museum of Art," he said. Sato also studied with Stuart Davis while in New York.
MUCH OF SATO'S early art focused on the New York subway system. "I was fascinated with the underground structure because we have nothing like it in Hawaii. I spent a lot of time traveling on the subway between Brooklyn and Wall Street," he said. The subway-inspired forms reflect the patterns of shadows, light on the wall and the grates in the sidewalks.
Sato's "Subway Station, New York, 1953-54-55" is encased in a handmade redwood frame he created. He worked as a part-time frame maker while residing in New York. "Subway Exit" is a larger-scale version of Sato's father's favorite painting. It's a representation of a subway turnstile.
"Captain's Chair" is a oil on canvas that displays vibrant color. This is rather unusual for Sato, who usually works in gray, green and earth tones.
Sato's life changed again when he met actor Charles Laughton. "The black limo pulled up in front of my small one-bedroom apartment. My wife went out to buy some freshly ground coffee at the A&P market. All of my paintings were lined up," he said.
Sato recalls Laughton -- who had arrived with writer Cornelia Otis and fellow actor Burgess Meredith -- sitting quietly, only acknowledging the great coffee. "I thought he didn't like the paintings, so I started to put them away. He stopped me and said, 'I'm not done looking at them -- they are pure poetry.'" The group left with seven paintings; three went to Laughton.
"I had enough money to pay for rent and kau kau for seven months," chuckled Sato. From that day on, he no longer needed to work part-time jobs -- he became a full-time artist. "All of a sudden, it was like I had an agent," he said.
Sato's work was displayed at the Willard Galleries in New York City and other venues. His first one-man show was in 1958. In the late 1950s he began adding elegant lines to his traditional circle forms.
WITH TWO CHILDREN to raise, Sato and his wife, Kiyoko, a Lahainaluna classmate, returned to the islands.
"Some people may find my work confusing, but for others, it's ecstasy," Sato said. This untitled work is an oil on linen from 1968.
Now, as he makes his way through the Contemporary Museum, he seems mesmerized to see so many of his works in the same room. "I forgot about some of the paintings until I saw them here on the walls," he said.
While most of his works feature gray, green and earth tones, a few pieces such as "Red Chair" comprise vibrant colors. "I must have been in an unusual mood when I painted that," said Sato. "Red Chair" is similar to "Captain's Chairs," where a chair form appears to be hovering in the middle of the painting.
"Emotion and spirituality play a role in my work, as if something moves through me and onto the canvas," Sato said. Even so, the finished works rarely resemble his initial ideas. "In the end it doesn't matter how it happened -- it's a living painting."
"I carry a sketchbook and try to note anything that is visually stimulating."
At the state Capitol, the mosaic "Aquarius" in the courtyard was designed by Sato and displays the changing colors and patterns of Hawaii's waters. Sato's work is also displayed at several public libraries, at the War Memorial and Community College in Maui, at the Shinmachi Tsunami Memorial in Hilo and in the ballroom at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
Working with simple subjects, like trees or rocks submerged in water, his work often reflects his familiarity with the Lahaina coastline, where he fishes. "Seaforms," one of Sato's best-known works, was inspired by a piece of a dried-up plant that stuck to his foot.
>> Tadashi Sato: A Retrospect: At The Contemporary Museum at Makiki Heights through Aug. 18 On view
>> Tadashi Sato: A Retrospect -- Four Themes: At The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center through Sept. 17
In the late '60s to early '70s, Sato adopted a sunny palette of oranges and pinks. Scenes of nature emerged in the 1970s when he went back to using cooler and quieter palettes of earth tones.
His latest focus is mynah birds. "They are very clever birds," he said. "They invade my studio and build nests. I scare them away but they keep coming back." Abstracted mynah bird images, inspired by his personal experiences, are on display. A sketch pad including sketches or notations of the bird's behavior is also on view.
"Some people may find my work confusing, but for others it's ecstasy," said Sato. "Some people write poetry, I paint pictures. I just hope that my pictures tell a story."
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