Mai Kato (加藤 舞)

1992　Born in Gifu, Japan
2017　B.F.A in sculpture, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan (Top Graduate)
2020　M.F.A in sculpture, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan (Top Graduate)
2023　The Art Students League of New York
2026　Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Art, Tama Art University

Mai Kato was born in 1992 in Gifu, Japan. Kato graduated from Tama Art University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in sculpture. She became a top graduate of the graduate school of the same university in 2020 and is a member of the Japan Artists Federation.

Working with iron as her primary material, the artist employs a distinctive approach using gas welding and cutting techniques to create sculptural works that evoke “iron drawings” in space. By melting iron at temperatures of approximately 1,500 degrees Celsius, she pursues what she calls the inherent “beauty without contour” that emerges through the material’s physical transformation. Since 2015, alongside her sculptural practice, she has also produced works on Mino handmade washi, a traditional craft of Gifu Prefecture, using metallic materials such as iron powder, iron rust, and pure gold leaf.

In the quiet beauty of forms as they age and weather — oscillating between the sublime and the austere — iron and space dissolve gently into one another, giving rise to void and emptiness.

Artist HP｜https://maikato-sculpture.com/
IG｜https://www.instagram.com/_maikato

［Solo Exhibitions］

2021　 yo ha ku, GALLERY IRIYA (Tokyo, Japan)
2021　 Iron Memory, Lexus Nagara (Gifu, Japan)
2021　 The Iron Drawing, Lights Gallery (Aichi, Japan)
2019　 Toki no Katachi, Tama Art University (Tokyo, Japan)
2018　 Tetsu wo Tokasu, GALLERY IRIYA (Tokyo, Japan)

［Group Exhibitions］

2026　√K Collection 2025→2026 (√K Contemporary, Tokyo)
2025　EXPLOSION & EXPANSION: The Creative Power of Tama Art University, Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of Tama Art University (Tama Art University BLUE CUBE, Tokyo)
2025　The 16th Shoes Box Sculpture Exhibition (National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan)
2025　ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2025, √K Contemporary (Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B, Fukuoka)
2025　ART PORT TAKAMATSU 2025, √K Contemporary (Takamatsu Symbol Tower, Kagawa)
2024　Forms of Prayer: Yoshio Ogawa, Yasuko Hirano, Nobuaki Maeda, Mai Kato, curated by Tetsuya Oshima, organized by MARUEIDO JAPAN (Kobi Nagano, Tokyo)
2024　ART OSAKA 2024, MARUEIDO JAPAN(Osaka City Central Public Hall, Osaka)
2024　「Student Salons 2024」 Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, The Art Students League of New York（USA）
2023　   Being – Mom is a Woman -, √K Contemporary (Tokyo, Japan)
2022　   KAI Design Exhibition, FOAM CONTEMPORARY, Ginza Tsutaya Books (Tokyo, Japan)
2022　   Amabiki Village and Sculpture 2022, Hachimangu Shrine (Ibaraki, Japan)
2020　   Spring Art Exhibtion, GINZA ATRIUM, Ginza Tsutaya Books (Tokyo, Japan)
2019　   HAIKU-Sculpture 2019, Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts (Okinawa, Japan)
2018　   JAA New Members Exhibition, JAA Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2018  　 The 9th Shoes Box Sculpture Exhibition, National Taiwan University of Arts (Taiwan, Taipei)

[ Public Collections ] 
AICHI METAL Co. (Aichi, Japan) / Kai Corporation (Gifu, Japan)/ Lexus Nagara (Gifu, Japan）