KOICHI SATO
"Koichi Sato grew up surrounded by mountains. His posters have familiar motifs imbued with the sacred ether of the mountains. They have the power to transport you to the realm of the gods."
- Shin-Ichiro Wakao
Koichi Sato was born in Takasaki, Japan, in 1944. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts in 1965, with a degree in Visual Design. Following his studies, he worked as an intern to Ikko Tanaka, eventually becoming his assistant.Many of Tanaka’s graphic sensibilities have been carried throughout Sato’s psychedelic imagery, and metaphysical forms. After working in Shiseido’s advertising department, he opened his own studio in 1970; a period that marks the beginning of Sato’s solo practice.
Following the emergence of Koichi Sato’s design career, numerous accolades would eventually follow; in 1985, he won the Tokyo ADC Award, an institution celebrating the best of digital media, graphic and publication design. He won the Mainichi Design Award in 1991, the same award given to other pivotal Japanese designers of his time; Mitsuo Katsui, Ikko Tanaka, Issey Miyake.
Koichi Sato’s works are featured in the permanent collection of various art institutions both in Japan and abroad. Part of the ageless appeal of Sato’s posters are their embodiment of more traditional printing processes. The analog tools behind his production are often displayed in tandem with his works, often including color chips, and hand-drawn mechanicals. Much of his work existed in fusing photographic technology and airbrush drawing.
Beyond his work, Koichi Sato was fascinated by the “physicalness” of graphic design. He didn’t think he could ever learn to like computers–even after he passed, he still didn’t like them. He “[liked] the coolness of movies better than the hotness of plays.” He loved the sky and its stars. He thought printed pictures looked more “stylish” than actual pictures. He believed that, “the weightless sense of the sky seems to be the same as the smartness of graphic design.” He loved television, often watching documentaries on natural science. He always kept paste-ups of past works, even if they were never to be touched again.