Ryo Kato is a Japanese painter born in 1978 in Nimi, Okayama Prefecture. He currently lives and works in Berlin.

From 1995 to 1998, Kato received drawing and painting lessons at high school and private schools in Okayama. After graduating, he spent nine months in Paris before moving to Berlin.

In 2001, he began studying at the Berlin University of the Arts, initially in Wolfgang Petrick's class. In 2005, he joined Daniel Richter's class as a master student and completed his studies in 2006.

During his studies, Kato held his first exhibitions in Germany. In 2010, he participated in an art fair for the first time, presenting a solo show at Art Karlsruhe.

His career gained further recognition in 2012 when he was awarded first place in the prestigious Ishi Prize in Japan. The following year, one of his works was included in the collection of the Okayama Prefectural Museum, which later acquired another piece in 2015. His works is now part of four museum collections: the Okayama Prefectural Museum, Niimi Museum, Ebene Kunst Museum and Museum Obentraut3.

In 2021, he received the "Initial" special scholarship from the Berlin Academy of Arts, followed by the "NEUSTART KULTUR" scholarship from the KUNSTFONDS Foundation in 2022.

Kato's work has been featured in numerous galleries, art fairs, “Kunstvereine” (art associations), and museum exhibitions in recent years. He has several forthcoming solo shows in 2025 and 2026, including one at the Stadtmuseum Schopfheim in Germany in 2025 and another at the Nariwa Museum in Japan in 2026. In Germany, exhibitions in “Kunstvereine” are highly regarded as a precursor to museum exhibitions. They are often supported by banks, entrepreneurs, and municipal funding structures.

Solo Shows:

·   2026

Nariwa Museum, Takahashi, Japan – July (Upcoming)

·   2025

KAC, Tokyo, Japan – November (Upcoming)

Galerie Art Affair, Regensburg, Germany – October (Upcoming)

Stadtmuseum Schopfheim, Germany – September (Upcoming)

Galerie Hoang Beli, Paris, France – July (Upcoming)

Galerie Falkenberg, Hanover, Germany – June (Upcoming)

Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan – May (Upcoming)

Kunstverein Pritzwalk, Germany – January (Upcoming)

Kunstverein Aichach, Germany – date to be confirmed (Upcoming)

·   2024

“Art for the New Age”, Kato Art Collective (KAC), Tokyo, Japan

"The Crucial Point", Kunstverein Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

"Faith and Environment", Güstrow Gallery, Güstrow, Germany

"The Monsters We Create", bskunst.de alternativer Kunstverein, Braunschweig, Germany

"Shortly Before Twelve", Galerie Art Affair, Regensburg, Germany

"Fire and water", Kunstverein Brühl, Brühl, Germany

·   2023

"A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf, Germany

·   2022

“A Hot Day”, Landford Gallery, Cologne, Germany

"Colors of Destruction" Kunstverein Heinsberg, Heinsberg, Germany

"Turning Point", Kunstverein Hockenheim, Hockenheim, Germany

“Time out", Gallery of the Volksbank (Kunstförderverein Weinheim), Weinheim, Germany

·   2021

"The Limit of Ignorance", Galerie Bengelsträter, Düsseldorf, Germany

"A Short Break for Nature", Galerie Palais Walderdorff , Trier, Germany

·   2020

“The Disaster as an Opportunity”, Parktheater Iserlohn, Iserlohn, Germany

·   2019

“Cry of Green", Nariwa Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan

“Fairytale Hour for Adults”, Neuer Kunstverein Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

"Limit", Gallery TS4312, Tokyo, Japan

Selected Group Shows:

·   2024

“Art Karlsruhe, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe, Germany

·   2023

"Art Market Budapest, Art Fair”, Galerie Art Affair, Budapest, Hungary

 "Art Karlsruhe, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe, Germany

·   2022

“SCOPE Miami Beach, Art Fair”, Landford Gallery, Miami, USA

"Fo you", Marienburg, Berlin, Germany

“Art Karlsruhe, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe, Germany

“Discovery Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt, Germany

·   2021

“….Mixing to Create Something New”, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg, Germany

“Discovery Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt, Germany

“Contemporary Art Ruhr, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Essen, Germany

"20 Years of the Gallery for New Art”, Galerie Falkenberg, Hannover, Germany

·   2020

“Contemporary Art Ruhr, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Essen, Germany

“Discovery Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt, Germany

"Art Karlsruhe, Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Karlsruhe, Germany

·   2019

“Discovery Art Fair”, Galerie Bengelsträter, Frankfurt, Germany

This portfolio of ten paintings comes from different series of works, unified by their exploration of the connection between nature and humanity. Kato's art serves as a medium to raise awareness about the state of the environment and advocate for sustainable protection. As Kato has explained:

"My engagement with the destruction and beauty of nature—environmental issues—is a driving force in my life that has been reflected in my art since I began painting. I want to inspire people to reflect and engage in discussions. My art seems to resonate with the times."

Kato's artistic exploration of environmental issues was profoundly shaped by the catastrophic Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

Kato achieves a high level of visual dynamism through the artistic restlessness evident on his canvases. His style seamlessly fuses figurative and abstract elements, with subtle realistic motifs emerging through his masterful use of color blending and scraping techniques.