Sumi ink，Japanese pigment on paper mounted on board

91 x 72.6 cm.35 7/8 x 28 5/8 in.

Stamped with artist’s seal on lower left，signed and titled in Japanese，

stamped with artist’s seal on the reverse

Ryozo Kato b.1964

The style，technique and media used in Nihonga（also called mineral-pigment painting or glue-pigment？painting）are influenced by ancient China and Korea some 1，000 years ago. Nihonga is mainly created using natural materials with fine brushes and techniques of applying ink. Exquisite pigments derived from natural minerals or synthetic minerals are used. To produce these pigments，the raw materials are powdered into 16 gradations and a kind of animal glue called nikawa is added. Glue-pigments are usually applied on washi，creating a special，light glow and foggy effect.

Following the traditional Japanese art style，Ryozo Kato is skilledin creating on Japanese paper using fine stone pigment. Because of his fascination of the Chinese ink landscape painting of the Northern Song Dynasty，he incorporates the essence of this painting tradition with the modern spirit to reinvent the classicthrough traditional ink. His‘Sansuikyo’series are mostly created with delicate ax-cut strokes and hemp-fibre strokes，delineatingthe whole structure using fine black lines，and enhancing his pictorial composition by layering and blending different colours. His unique visual vocabulary has given traditional landscape painting a new life，while striking a harmonious balance between aesthetics in the east and west. In this piece of‘Sansuikyo’being shown this time，the viewer is invited to tread along the meandering path and start wandering using the eye. The artist’s delicate brushes channel the viewer’s attention to see across the foliage and through the mountain ranges. The acute shading of yellow and green is reminiscent of 18th Century Romantic painter John Constable’s‘The Hay Wain’，Green vegetations and the earth are shown through precise choice of colours，as isthe fine difference between the sky and the mountain ranges，thus enhancing the complexity of traditional landscape painting. Ryozo Kato’s paintings are like a paradise for scholars and writers，and the viewer can meditate in the calmness created by the artist.

Price estimate:
HKD：140,000 - 200,000
USD：18,060 - 25,800

Auction Result:
HKD : 188,800