Masakatsu Sashie - Symbol

Masakatsu Sashie was born in and currently resides in Kanazawa, Japan a city well known for rich traditional arts and crafts and a unique culture due to the city's difficult geographical accessibility. Sashie received his MFA from the Kanazawa College of Art in 2000. Sashie has exhibited throughout Asia and the United States and his work is included in private and corporate collection internationally.

Sashie's home, Kanazawa is a miniature condensed version of the larger more populous cities in Japan. With a lifelong interest in model making and having grown up in a virtual diorama, Sashie's intricately detailed oil paintings depict a world where the common objects of modern industrialization take on often oppressive forms. These haunting vistas are often dominated by an orb, a substantial figure, made of an amalgamation of the remnants of human existence. The contrast between the detail and complexity of the orb and the surrounding environment impresses upon the viewer the co-existence of small microcosms within the larger outer world. Without showing preference to either world, Masakatsu Sashie paints two opposite worlds as equals with the intent of drawing the viewer into the space and having them reflect on society and its values.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Our cities are filled with countless symbols—letters on signs, corporate logos, the glow of neon lights. Though each of these elements carries its own meaning, they become ingrained in our memory through repeated exposure, eventually forming a shared landscape. No longer just pieces of information, they function as “symbols” that shape our actions and awareness, influencing the very structure of society.

In this exhibition, I deconstruct and reconstruct these urban symbols, depicting them as floating spheres. Each sphere is composed of fragmented elements from signs and logos, yet together they create a unified, almost familiar scene. Suspended in landscapes reminiscent of a nostalgic sci-fi world, these spheres contain the essence of the urban environment, subtly revealing the unspoken rules and agreements that govern our daily lives.

We live surrounded by symbols, unconsciously interpreting their meanings as we navigate our cities. Over time, these accumulated impressions solidify into memory, shaping our collective visual experience. But what kind of power do these shared memories hold? Through this exhibition, I invite viewers to reconsider the influence of urban symbols and reflect on their own relationship with the structures that define our world.