MEHR (MIDTOWN) is pleased to present the debut solo exhibition of ATARU SATO in New York. Born in 1986 in Chiba, Japan, Sato works in finely drawn pencil on paper, mounted on board, or pinned directly to the wall. His works derive from the face as their canvas plane and contain within its body layers of figurative and graphic density. Entire populations are rising and falling in the recesses of his works. And in each panel, eyes shine like the steady light source of their collapsing worlds.

“Like the undulating waves, all things in sight, approach me, and draw back. And I’m lost as to what to scoop up. I’m making a part of myself from these various fractions in that sea. So not to drown, as the center of gravity leans.

But I sometimes would want to melt into that sea. It’s so difficult to stand up right against something.

I hope to show my sea, in happiness and in sadness, to as many people as possible.”

—Ataru Sato

Ataru Sato lives and works in Kyoto, Japan, and is a graduate of the Kyoto University of Art and Design. His works have been exhibited at Gallery Koyanagi; Frieze and Art Basel. Sato will be featured in GenArtPulse in September, 2007.

Concurrent with this exhibition, Agata Olek presents a new work-in-progress crochet installation in the outdoor gallery. Agata has designed sets and costumes for dance, theater, and film. In 2004 Agata received the Ruth Mellon award for sculpture from the National Art Club.