Satoru Abe

{{Short description|Japanese American sculptor and painter (1926–2025)}}

{{Infobox artist

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Satoru Abe

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Saturo Abe, 2016.JPG

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Satoru Abe in 2016

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|6|13}}

| birth_place = Moiliili, Hawaii Territory, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|2|4|1926|6|13}}

| death_place =

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality =

| residence =

| education =

| alma_mater =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| style =

| home_town =

| movement =

| spouse =

| partner =

| awards =

| elected =

| patrons =

| memorials =

| website = {{URL|satoruabe.com}}

| module =

}}

Satoru Abe (June 13, 1926 – February 4, 2025) was an American sculptor and painter renowned for his abstract works inspired by natural forms, particularly trees. Born in Moʻiliʻili, Honolulu, Hawaii, Abe played a pivotal role in the Hawaiian modernist movement and was a founding member of the Metcalf Chateau, a collective of seven Asian American artists. Over a prolific career spanning several decades, his art garnered national recognition, with pieces featured in prominent institutions such as the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Hawaii State Art Museum. In 1984, he was honored as a "Living Treasure" by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, reflecting his significant contributions to the arts in Hawaii and beyond.

Life and career

File:'East and West', welded copper and bronze sculpture by --Satoru Abe--, 1971, --Hawaii State Art Museum--.jpg]]

File:Satoru Abe - 'Two Abstract Figures', c. 1955, oil on canvas, HAA.JPG]]

Abe was born in Mo{{Okina}}ili{{Okina}}ili, a district of Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended President William McKinley High School, where he took art lessons from Shirley Ximena Hopper Russell. After graduating from high school he worked for the Dairymen's Association.{{Cite web|url=https://www.midweek.com/satoru-abe/|title=Satoru Abe: Godfather of Honolulu's Art Scene - MidWeek|last=Fournier|first=Rasa|date=March 13, 2013|website=www.midweek.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-09}} In 1947 he began taking art lessons from Hon Chew Hee and decided to pursue an art career in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/08/07/features/story3.html|title=After a lifetime creating art, Abe talks about his death|last=Kam|first=Nadine|date=August 7, 2005|website=archives.starbulletin.com|access-date=2018-10-09}} On his way to New York, in 1948, Abe spent a summer at the California School for Fine Arts. When he reached New York Abe attended the Art Students League of New York where he studied with Yasuo Kuniyoshi, George Grosz, Louis Bouche, and Jon Corbino. From 1948 to 1959, Abe traveled to New York regularly.Papanikolas, Theresa and Stephen Salel, Stephen, Abstract Expressionism, Looking East from the Far West, Honolulu Museum of Art, 2017, {{ISBN|9780937426920}}, p. 19 He married Ruth, a fellow student from Wahiawa, and they returned to Hawaii in 1950.

In Hawaii Abe met local artist Isami Doi, who would become a close friend and mentor. Although Abe began as a painter, he learned welding from Bumpei Akaji in 1951, and the two artists began a series of copper work experiments.Morse, Marcia, Legacy: Facets of Island Modernism, Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2001, {{ISBN|0937426482}}, p. 16 During these few years in Hawaii, Abe also formed the Metcalf Chateau with Bumpei Akaji, Edmund Chung, Tetsuo Ochikubo, Jerry T. Okimoto, James Park, and Tadashi Sato.Matsumoto, Lacy, "Hawaii artist honors late friend with exhibition - Satoru Abe to show his work alongside pieces by Jerry Okimoto at Nu'uanu Gallery", Honolulu Advertiser, July 28, 2008, D1 Their first group exhibition was in 1954.

In 1956, Abe returned to New York and found a creative home at the SculptureCenter, where his work attracted the attention of gallery owners and others. In 1963, Abe was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Abe returned to Hawai'i in 1970, and in the same year was offered a National Endowment for the Arts Artist-in-residence grant.{{Cite web|url=http://sfca.hawaii.gov/hisam/visitor-information/hisam-sculpture-garden/sculpture-garden-works-of-art/|title=Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts {{!}} Sculpture Garden: Works of Art|website=sfca.hawaii.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-10-09}}

Abe died on February 4, 2025, at the age of 98.{{cite web |title=Satoru Abe, ‘godfather’ of Hawaii’s art scene, dies at 98 |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/02/06/satoru-abe-godfather-hawaiis-art-scene-dies-98/ |website=HawaiiNewsNow |access-date=February 6, 2025}} Abe believed in reincarnation, which influenced his work.{{Cite book|title=Collective Visions 1967-1997|last=Yoshihara|first=Lisa|publisher=State Foundation on Culture and the Arts|year=1997|location=Honolulu, Hawaii|pages=17}}{{Cite book|title=Art in Public Places: Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and its Cultural Significance|last=Munson|first=Gloria|publisher=University of Hawaii|year=1992|location=Honolulu, Hawaii|pages=135}}

Works

File:The Seed Sculpture, Wallace Rider Farrington High School, King Street, Kalihi, Honolulu, HI.jpg]]

Abe is best known for his sculptures of abstracted natural forms, many of which resemble trees, such as East and West in the collection of the Hawaii State Art Museum. He also painted. Two Abstract Figures in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art typifies this aspect of his work. The Honolulu Museum of Art and the Hawaii State Art Museum are among the public collections that hold Abe's works.Honolulu Museum of Art, Spalding House Self-guided Tour, Sculpture Garden, 2014, PP. 12 & 15 His sculptures in public places include:

Three Rocks on a Hill, Honolulu Community College, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1975
Among the Ruins, Leeward Community College, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1973
Tree of Knowledge, Nanakuli High and Intermediate School, Nanakuli, Hawaii, 1971
Enchanting Garden, President William McKinley High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1983
Three Clouds, Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1974
An Island of Trees, Honolulu International Airport, Diamond Head Extension, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987
The Seed, Farrington High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1995
Reaching for the Sun, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997
Early Spring, 'Aiea High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1976
A Community Surrounded by Sugar Cane, Ka'imiloa Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1978
Moon Beyond the Fence, Pearl City High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1981
Spring, Summer, Autumn, James B. Castle High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1980
Five Logs on a Hill, Kau High and Pahala Elementary School, Pahala, Hawaii, 1975
Landscape on the Ocean, Waiakea High School, Waiakea, Hawaii, 1983
Reaching for the Sun, Iao School, Wailuku, Hawaii, 1981
A Path Through the Trees, Maui High School, Kahului, Hawaii, 1977
Trees, Vines, Rocks, and Petroglyphs, Lanai Community School, Lanai City, Hawaii, 1976
Boulders, Salt Pond and Taro Fields, Eleele Elementary School, Eleele, Hawaii, 1989
Aged Tree, Kauikeaouli Hale, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1976
Untitled sculpture, Leilehua High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1976
Volcano, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1980
Growing Out From the Wheel, The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2006
Kukui ʻĀ Mau I Ke Ao Mālamalama (A Torch That Continues to Burn During the Day), Keoneʻae Skyline station, East Kapolei, Hawaii, 2021

References

Abe, Satoru, Sketches 1956–1966 in Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts, Fall 1991, 7–12.
Clarke, Joan and Diane Dods, Artists/Hawaii, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1996, 2–7.
Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Satoru Abe, A Retrospective 1948-1998, Honolulu, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 1998.
Department of Education, State of Hawaii, Artists of Hawaii, Honolulu, Department of Education, State of Hawaii, 1985, pp. 31–38.
Doi, Isami, Excerpts from "Letters to Satoru Abe, 1952-1965" in Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts, Spring 1998, 57–64.
Haar, Francis and Neogy, Prithwish, Artists of Hawaii: Nineteen Painters and Sculptors, University of Hawaii Press, 1974, 19–25.
Hartwell, Patricia L. (editor), Retrospective 1967-1987, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987, p. 115
Honolulu Museum of Art, Spalding House Self-guided Tour, Sculpture Garden, 2014, pp. 12 & 15
International Art Society of Hawai'i, Kuilima Kākou, Hawai'i-Japan Joint Exhibition, Honolulu, International Art Society of Hawai'i, 2004, p. 7
Morse, Marcia, Legacy: Facets of Island Modernism, Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-937426-48-7}}, pp. 14, 28-33
Morse, Marcia (ed.), Honolulu Printmakers, Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2003, p. 80, {{ISBN|0-937426-58-X}}
Morse, Marcia and Allison Wong, 10 Years: The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2006, {{ISBN|1888254076}}, p. 10
Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces, University of Hawaii Press, 1978, 91.
Wong, Allison, The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu HI, 2006, p. 10
Yoshihara, Lisa A., Collective Visions, 1967-1997, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997, 17.