Art21. Leading contemporary painters. Our eclectic selection of international painters is united by three facts: most are relative newcomers to the art scene; all work figuratively (we take a look at some of the best new abstraction from the US, UK and Germany in a separate section) and all, in our opinion, are among the most exciting contemporary painters working today. Some names are well known, others less familiar. We're enthralled by their approach to painting and hope you will be, too. Izumo Kato Japan: born 1969 Japanese painter and sculptor Izumo Kato may not enjoy the same kind of global recognition as fellow countrymen Takashi Murakami or Yoshitomo Nara, but since the the mid noughties he has increasingly established a reputation as one of the most interesting and individual of artists - not only in Japan, but internationally.
Kato's portraits of otherworldly beings draw direct inspiration from 'primitive' and outsider art, while also exhibiting very distant echoes of Japanese manga and the kawaii, or 'cute'. Saatchi Gallery. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Smithsonian Institution. Sistine Chapel. Jtoler.com - Home.