Kikuo Saito: Paint with Drawing

Upper Gallery
June 3 - August 12, 2022

View our presentation

"I always wanted to paint with drawing."
Kikuo Saito

We are pleased to exhibit Kikuo Saito: Paint with Drawing, a selection of four superb works from 1980 through 2010. Azalea (1981) and Blue Kettle (1980) exemplify Saito's earlier style, for which he first gained acclaim, combining large expanses of color with fluid, calligraphic flourishes. Later in his career, Saito wove together dense layers of colorful, freewheeling brushstrokes to execute works like Copper Moon (2010).

“The marks in his paintings, now floating, now gathering in conversational groups, now purposefully traversing the canvas, have become eloquent signs, carriers not only of the complex colors with which Saito builds his paintings, but also of deep feeling and energy. It's not an overstatement to say these poetic, energetic works are among Saito's best.”
Karen Wilkin

Zoom with Karen Wilkin

Karen Wilkin joined James Barron on Zoom to discuss our current exhibition Kikuo Saito: Paint with Drawing on Wednesday, July 6.

Karen Wilkin is an independent curator and critic based in New York. Wilkin is one of the leading scholars on Kikuo Saito's work, having written numerous catalogue essays over the course of his career. Wilkin has organized exhibitions and published monographs on Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, Anthony Caro, Giorgio Morandi, and David Smith, among others. She regularly contributes to the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, and the Hudson Review, and is a faculty member at the New York Studio School.