Zen
Koichi Sato
Japanese, born 1944
1992
A silkscreen poster that transforms a commercial image into a meditative, architectural void—Koichi Sato uses a recessed, shadowed rectangle and metallic accents to evoke a Zen alcove and quiet contemplation.
You are pulled into a deep, black rectangular niche whose textured interior reads like worn copper or lacquered wood, while a spray of small Japanese characters and a large calligraphic mark float in the upper right, the spare composition feeling hushed, tactile, and spatially unsettling.
Emerging from late‑20th‑century Japanese graphic design, this piece marries traditional Zen minimalism with the material possibilities of silkscreen, showing how negative space, texture, and restraint could make commercial design into a contemplative art form.
Medium
Silkscreen
Dimensions
40 1/2 x 28 3/4"( 102.8 x 73 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the designer
Accession
174.1993
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
