Marc Katano grew up in Japan, where he attended American schools for US military dependents. Since English was his first language, all the signage off base looked like little pictures to him. Katano’s paintings are the manifestation of this early memory.

The basis of Katano’s work is the act of inscription. While his compositions are organic in form, they are not intended to emulate nature. Instead, they are inspired by the physicality of human expression, such as the precise motions of Japanese calligraphy. He uses the simplest, most natural movements of his hand and arm to reflect the physical activity of mark making. Each line and form represents nothing more than its own creation, and each piece finds meaning in the harmony of its own structure.

Painter Marc Katano (American, b. Tokyo, Japan, 1952) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA in 1975.

Katano is the recipient of the prestigious SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has had over forty solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and a survey exhibition of works on paper at the Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, Honolulu, HI.

Katano’s work has also been included in exhibitions at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA; the Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA; the Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA; the San Jose Museum of Modern Art, San Jose, CA and Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, NJ.

Robert Wilhite dismisses traditional hierarchical distinctions between fine art and functional objects and applies an equal intensity to both. His 45 year, multi-disciplined career includes sculpture, painting, drawing, design, and both theatrical and sound performances. He often creates total environments, in which all objects fit the purpose of the space.

Wilhite’s practice, as he commented, is a continual juggle between the serendipitous, the conceptual, and the tangible. His work displays a readiness to freely move amongst mediums and disciplines, from fine art of sculpture, music, and performance, but also to rethinking the everyday objects around us. For Wilhite: “A painting is an object, and a coffee pot is an object. Which object inspires attention and contemplation? As artists we should be able to look at both with inspiration and folly.” In the late ’70s, Wilhite collaborated on four plays with Guy de Cointet. He remains involved in the re-staging of these plays today.