Satoshi Sakamoto

"Sur-naturalism is a style attempting to emancipate and direct life’s power and senses through pure forms and colors. It strives to achieve the potential archetypes that are consistently present in nature.

"I chose red to recreate the vital experience of initiation into a place where all living things are activating the human soul. Like magma or blood, red declares a duel between internal nature and external nature. I think it also implicates the contrast between the red shrines of Japan and the green forests.

"The artworks of the past, like ancient Japanese earthenware, instructed me to meditate on the mythology described with its details. I believe that primitive art works already achieved higher states than any other modern art. It might be designed by solemn experience in karma as duality of woman and man, killer and victim, or human and nature. Those are reflected in my paintings subconsciously."

Satoshi Sakamoto is one of 50 contemporary artists featured in Metamorphosis 2 (beinArt Publishing).