Chaco Kato was born in Sendai city in Japan, and has been based in Melbourne, Australia since 2006.

Kato’s art practice involves many genres from process-basedinstallation to improvisational drawing and picture book making. She is probably best known for her ephemeral, open-ended, playful installations,such as large scale string constructions, or dried veggie sculpture series. Site specificity, versatility, flexibility and providing a sense of humour or joy are key issues throughout her works, which also seek ways to transform the world we live in. Kato’s works are strongly influenced by the exhibition space and her relationship to this space.  It is important for her to spend time to gain a gradual understanding of this environment, so that she can create a dialogue within each space. Her installations are very much about a creative and conceptual exchange which involves dialogues, between the artist and the space, between the artist and the materials and ultimately, between the viewer and the artist through the installation.

The aim of her practice is also to establish the notion of “ephemeral sculpture” in a public art context in broad terms, and build a new language of flexibility and plasticity, almost liquidity, in her site specific construction. This attitude proposes that one way of survival is to be in a state of constant transformation in our ever-changing world.

Kato completed Fine Art degree, at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She then finished her Master of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1999. She is a recipient of a French government scholarship, and the Paris Cite des Arts and a studio at Gertrude Contemporary Art Space. Kato has lived in Melbourne since 1996, and has exhibited extensively in various public/commercial spaces, such as the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award in Melbourne, and 3331ArtsChiyoda in Tokyo.

She is a founding member of Slow Art Collective (SAC), an interdisciplinary artist group whose focus is on creative practices, environmental sustainability, DIY culture, and collaborative practice. SAC had participated in numbers of innovative projects such as Watershed (Moomba Festival), Shelter (McDonald Drive through, and Ian Potter Museum), Degavlas (National Institute for Experimental Arts, Object Gallery). More information about SAC: http://slowartcollective-sac.blogspot.com/

Curriculum Vitae

Education

• 1997/Feb-1998/Dec  Master of Fine Art, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
• 1987/Jan-1989/May   Studio Diploma, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• 1981/Apr-1985/Mar  Bachelor of Arts; creative writing, Nihon University, college of the arts, Tokyo

Selected Exhibitions

2012/Jan (forthcoming new installation), Chapter House Lane , Melbourne

2011/Nov  Melpore String Sect, Esplanade, Singapore (collaboration with Dylan Martorell)

2011/Apr Pulp Fiction, solo show, Craft Victoria

2010/Nov McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award

2010/Jun  The Law of Wheat: Slow Wheat Project (commission work by 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo)

2010/Feb   In Order Out, Anna Papas Gallery (collabotration with Dylan Martorell)

2008/Jun  Embodied Energy, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne (curated Edwina Bartlem)

2007/Oct  Devilbend, Monrington Peninsula Regional Gallery (curated Rodney James)

2005/Jan  Spider’s Whisper,  solo show, Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne

2002/Jan  Entice, Mornington Peninsula Reginal gallery, Melbourne

2000/May Grief Transformed, solo show, Quay School of Art, Wanganui, New Zealand

2000/Mar A Beautiful and Harsh Law, Gertrude Street Studio 12, Melbourne, Australia

1999/Oct  Make it Yourself, 200 Gertrude street, Melbourne Festival 1999, Melbourne

1999/Oct  Organic, curated by Anna Clabburne, McClelland Gallery, Frankston

Slow Art Collective Projects

2011/Sep Degavlas for Make it at home,Object Gallery, conjunction of The National Institute for     Experimental Arts, COFA, Sydney

2011/Aug Shelter @McDonald Driveway, for MisDesgin, Ian Potter Museum,

2011/Jun Brunswick Projcet ,Counihan Gallery (supported by Arts Victoria)

2010/Mar  Watershed:Mapping the Yarra, Artplay, (commission work by Melbourne Water)

2009/Aug TS2, Incinerator Arts Complex, Moonee Valley

Competitions/Past group shows

• 2008/May   aRtECYCLE-ephemeral Sculptural Installations, Incinerator arts complex, Melbourne
• 2008/Mar   Moreland Sculpture Show, Melbourne
• 2008/Feb   Stanthorpe Art Prize 2008, Queensland
• 2007/Oct   The Banyule City Council Works on Paper Art Award Exhibition
• 2007/Sep  Site Unseen, commission for Melbourne Fringe Festival
• 2007/Mar   Shadow Box, Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne
• 2006/Oct  Small Scultprue Prize Woollahra City Council, Sydney
• 2006/Sep   Robert Jacks Drawing Prize 06, BendigoArt Gallery
• 2006/Jun   2006National Works on Papert, Mornington Peninsula Reginal Gallery
• 2006/May   2006Alice Prize, Alice Springs, 2006
• 2005/Feb  Montalto sculpture Prize, Redhill, Melbourne
• 2004/Feb  Montalto sculpture Prize, Redhill, Melbourne
• 2004/Oct  Small Sculpture Prize, Woollahra Council, Sydney
• 2004/Aug  Breathing Soil, Mooney Pond Council, Melbourne
• 2002/Jan  Entice, Mornington Peninsula Reginal gallery, Melbourne
• 2001/Aug  A way of staying alive, Gallery 4A, Sidney (collaboration with Annett Douglas)
• 2001/Apr  Ripped and Refined, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
• 2001/Sep  Sukima Project, Command N, Tokyo
• 2001/Apr  A Crystal Palace, St Kilda Conservatory, Melbourne
• 2001/Apr  Migration, Project Exhibition, West Space, Melbourne
• 2000/Nov  200GertrudeStreet studio artists show, 200GertrudeStreet, Melbourne
• 1999/Jul  Cartographs, curated by David O’Halloran, Glen Eira Gallery, Melbourne

Awards, Scholarship and Grants

• City of Melbourne grant,(Slow Art Collective),  2011,2009
• People’s choice award, Yering Station Sculpture Show, 2009
• Mitchell Family Choice Award, Montalto Sculpture Prize, 2009
• Finalist for the Robert Jacks rawing Prize, 2008
• Installation award from aRtECYCLE show,2008
• Finalist for the Robert Jacks rawing Prize, 2006
• Finalist for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, 2004
• Finalist for the 2006 National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
• Finalist for the AlicePrize, 2006
• Finalist for the montalto sculpture prize show, Feb/2005,06
• the first prize of 2003 Victoria and Tasmanian Merit Award for Environment in Landscape Artchtect 2003
• the top Award in four categories of the Landscaping Industries Association Awards of Excellence (for Breathing Soil in replenish garden) 2003
• Art Victoria, Arts and Professional Development grant, Dec/2002
• City West Water Environ Partnership, Jan/2003
• City of Yarra, Community grants, May/2003
• City of Yarra, Art development grant, Jun/2002
• Asia200 Foundation New Zealand, NewZealand, Apr/2000
• Academic Activity Grants, The University of Melbourne School of Graduate Studies, Melbourne, Australia, Sep/1998
• A full scholarship from the French government for studying in France, 1992-1993
• The Competition of the Original Drawing and Painting for the Poster of Maison de Franco-Japon, first prize, Tokyo, Japan, Sep/1991
• Holbein Scholarship, Holbein Inc., Japan, Apr/1990-Mar/1991
• Dana Pond Award (the Best Painter of the year), School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, May/1989
  

Residencies

• Himming Art Centre, Himi, Japan, Jul-Aug/2010
• School of Arts, Wanganui Polytechnic, Wanganui, NZ, Apr-May/2000
• Studio, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, Aug/1999-July/ 2001
• Cite International des Arts, Paris, France, Sep/1992-Sep/1993

Public collections

• Mooney Vallery Council, Melbourne
• Replenish Garden, Banyule City Council, Melbourne
• Picolina Child Care Center, Yokohama

Selected bibliography, interview, review

• TV Gallery Girl at McClelland Gallery , channel 31 ,Sunday 20th March at 8.30pm.
• Robert Lindsay, ‘Art and Nature/Nature and Art’, catalogue of McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award, 2010,p33
• Kimberley Seedy, Creative in the Spin, Leader, Novermber 17, 2010
• Teresa Murphy, ‘Sculptures in the wild’, Leader, November 1, 2010
• John Mangan, ‘Sculptures create a wonderland as artists vie for prize, Age, October 31, 2010
• Nihon TV, ‘Tokyo Biyori’, Jul 29^th ,2010
• Asaichiban, NHK radio, Aug 28^th 2010 http://www.nhk.or.jp/r1/asa/culture.html
• Naoko Sato, Petit Journey: Slow Wheat project, p103, Kooyon Magazine, September, 2010
• Genevieve Osborn, TS2, Un magazine, Issue 4.1, September 2010, p92(Slow Art Collective)
• Adam Broinowski, TS2, March 2010, Art Monthly (Slow Art Collective)
• Cassie May, Un magazine, Issue2.2 November 2008, p54
• Maurice O’Riordan, EM file, Art Monthly Australia, September issue, P49, 2008
• ‘Once we were all children’, New york art magazine, Jan/Feb 2007
• Martin Shub, ‘Random Access and the Montalto Sculpture Prize’, ArtRightNow, 09/Mar/2006
• Jen Webb, Art and Social Change,ed.Caroline Turner, Pandanus books, 2005, pp40-42
• Jen Webb, New Zealand Journal of Media Studies, Aug/2005
• Mainichi newspaper, Japan, May/2005, (Newspaper interview)
• pokapoka chikyu kazoku, TV assahi,25/Mar/2005 (Television documentary)
• MartinShub, ArtRightNow, chaco kato weaves a spell, ArtRightNow Feb/2005
• dengon net, Magazine interview, 2004
• Tony schirato andJen webb, Reading the visual, Allen & Unwin, 2004, pp113-114
• Clay Lucas, ‘Healthy way to break down’, The Melbourne Times, 10/Dec/2003
• Emily Howes, ‘Stitched drawings open a window of fancy’, Craft Culture, Dec/2003
• Michelle Antoinette, ‘Muticultural Australia subjectivities’, eyeline, #46, Spring 2001, pp24-26
• Monty DiPietro, Can-do creators fill in city “gaps” , Japan Times, Oct/2001
• Radio interview, being an artist and being a woman, 3PB Radio Mar/2000
• Robert Nelson, ‘There’s something rotten in the city of St. Kilda’, The Age, Melbourne, Mar/2000
• Anna Claburn, catalogue writing, ‘Breathing Soil’, Nov/2003
• David O’Halloran, Cartograph, exhibition catalogue, Melbourne Jul/1999
• Anna Claburn, ‘The Meaning of Space’, The Age, Melbourne Mar/1999
• Melbourne University Student Union, ‘Processing Art’, Thrive, Melbourne University Student Union, Incorporated, Melbourne Feb/1999
• Review, Gekkan Bijyutu (a monthly art magazine) Tokyo Jul/1996
• Review, Bijyutu no mado (a Japanese monthly art magazine), Tokyo, Apr/1995
• Marty Carlock, Art in New England, Boston, Jun/1989
• Rebecca Nemser, ‘Sculptures celebrate fragile life’, Boston Globe, May/1989
• Christine Temin, ‘Three from Tokyo’, Boston Globe, Boston, May/1988

Presentation, slide talks

• Artist talk at RMIT, textile dept, Melbourne, Apr/2009
• Artist talk at Kandada, Tokyo, Dec/2009
• Artist talk at RMIT, textile dept, Melbourne, Melbourne, Oct/2008
• Artist talk at HolemsGlen institute, Melbourne, Mar/2007
• gallery4A,Sydney, seminar guest speaker, May/2001
• Artist talk at HolemsGlen institute, Melbourne, May/2000
• Artist talk at Chisholm institute, Melbourne, May/2000
• Slide Talk, Sergent Gallery, Wanganui, NZ, Apr/2000
• Floor talk, 200GertrudeStreet, a Beautiful and Harsh Law, Mar/2000
• Seminar presentation, Women and The Arts Game Conference 2000, Dandenong CommunityArts Centre, Mar/2000
• Artist talk at Victorian College of the Arts, Sculpture student, Feb/1999
• Floor talk at Swinburn University, Sep/1998

Children’s book illustration

• Tetsuta Watanabe (text), Mori no Byoin (The Bush hospital), Tokyo, Fukuinkan Shoten, Jun/2007
• Toshiko Kanzawa (text), Maochan no Umaretahi (a day Maochan was born), Tokyo, Nora Shoten, 2004
• Chaco Kato (text), Dokoittano? (where are you?), Tokyo, Fukuinkan Shoten, 2002
• Chaco Kato (trans.and text), Ookina Kaeru Tiddalik, (Tiddalik, the giant Frog), Tokyo, Fukuinkan Shoten, 2000
• Shigeo Watanabe (text), Hakkeyoi noktta! (Animal Sumo Wrestling ), Tokyo, Fukuinkan Shoten,1998
• Chaco Kato (text), Konoko Daare? (Coco and Her Friends), Tokyo, Fukuinkan Shoten,1997
• Shigeo Watanabe (text), Butsukaru! Butsukaru! (Hey, Watch Out! ), Tokyo,Fukuinkan Shoten,1995
• Shigeo Watanabe (text), Manindensha (Jam Packed Train), Toky, Fukuinkan Shoten,1993

Children’s book translation

• Harriet M. Ziefert (text), Donald Saaf (illust.), Wee G., New York, Atheneum Books For Young Readers ,Apr/1999

Selected illustration for magazine, book cover, etc.

• Testuta Watanabe (text), Midorino Mori no Bilingual, sanshusha,2005, (book cover and book illustrations)
• Testuta Watanabe (text), Walking with Ringo, Hahano-tomo (monthly magazine), Fukuinkan, Apr/2005 – Mar/2006
• Testuta Watanabe (text) Asaha Dada ga suki, Hahano-tomo, Apr/1997 – Mar/2000
• Shigeo Watanabe(text), Kokoroni Midorino Tane Wo Maku, Tokyo, Shinchosha,1997, (book cover and book illustrations)
• S.Cooper (text),Y.Morita, M.Sunagawa (trans.), The Children Who can Say No, Nagasaki, Dowakan,1995, (book cover and book illustrations)
• M.Warling (text), Eiko Shinozuka (trans.), Feminist Economics, Tokyo, Toyokeizai Publishers, 1994, (book cover illustration)
• Tetsuta Watanabe(text), kiite,hanashite,eikaiwa, Tokyo, Sansyu-sha,1992, (book illustrations)

Selected review (children’s books)

• Hiromi Kodama,bessatsuTaiyo, ‘Kokoro wo tsunagu yomikikase ehon 100′ , (100books for book reading for children), Heibon-sha, p21, 2004
• Yoko Fukuda, maochan no umaretahi, Hokkaido Newspaper, 23/Dec/2003
• Yukiko Hiromatsu, ‘maochanno-umaretahi’ , NHK sukusukukosodate magazine, Feb/2003
• Yukiko Hiromatsu, ‘a book for this week’ maochan no umaretahi Yomiuri newspaper, 17/Nov/2003
• Sachiko Yokota, Konohon, daisuki-Maochan no Umaretahi, Kumamoto Nichinichi newspaper, 22/Nov/2003
• Shigeo Watanabe, p163-166, Koroni Midorino Tanewo Maku, by Shinchosha, 1997
• Seizio Tajima, Pee-Boo (a Japanese quarterly magazine of children’s books), Tokyo Jul/1993

Exhibition of book illustrations

• 2007/May – Jul Group exhibition, ‘mukashibanashi no tabi’ , Chiisana Ehon Bijyutsukan,(small museum for children’s picture book), Nagano
• 2005 Kodomonotomo 50anniversary, Hiroshima museum, Niigata prefecture museum
• 2005/Dec – 2006/Feb Nigata prefecture mandai museum
• 2006/Jul – Aug Takahama city Yakimonono sato kawara museum
• 2006/Oct – Nov Hiroshima museum