Artist bio.
Zen Saito grew up in a small town in Japan with a family that supported his interest in art and his creativity. Early on, he dreamed of becoming a designer. By high school, he was studying drawing and sculpture. By the age of 18, he had moved on to study design in Tokyo. Zen’s designs were often too innovative, and his professors hinted that it would be better for him to become a fine artist.
When he entered a painting competition in Tokyo, he experienced a dramatic embarrassment. His work was criticized as very much like some of his favorite artists. Since then, he has been searching for his own “original” style. To do that, he realized he needed unique experiences and stimulation. Zen decided to take a big adventure overseas, so at the age of 24 he went on an expedition to New York City.
New York was not at the top of his list, but it was (and still is) one of the biggest cities in the world, with the highest concentration of different cultures thriving together creatively. Studying at The Art Students League of New York, he worked on many series of artwork, including “Tomorrow May Not Come,” “Signet on Freckles,” “Primitive,” “Reprimitive,” and “The Flower Lamp Series.” He worked as an artist’s assistant for sculptor Helen Blundt for many years. He exhibited his work in group shows and also presented solo exhibitions in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
In 2007, he started helping his friend with construction projects in Massachusetts, eventually becoming a lead carpenter/project manager for building “high-performance” homes. Shortly before leaving New York, he met the most influential person for his art and his life, Yana Filkovsky. They moved to the Boston area together and married, joined by their famous cat, Orange. They always inspired each other and spent many years working together for their art.
Yana passed away in 2015. Zen worked on Yana’s memorial art show at Gallery Sitka with Tamar Russell Brown, which took place on the first anniversary of her passing. He also helped open Yana’s Art Museum in Bonaire, which Yana’s parents built in loving memory of their daughter and her art. Zen continues to work on presentations of Yana’s artwork and still pursues his own “original” style to this day.
Currently, Zen is working on his new series, “Alter Conviction,” nights and weekends around his day job in construction, on the Portrait of Flower series, and on wildlife photography.
In 2020, His dream came true. Purchased a house and converted it into his art gallery and workshop. He holds his art studio opening event annually in the fall.
Artist Statement:
Alter Conviction.
Inspiration for my artwork and creativity, and my life has become more and more inseparable from nature recently.
In the past, I aspired to imbue my creations with messages for the world, going so far as to target a specific audience to understand my thoughts. Now I am simply enjoying my creativity and skills while growing through various processes. I'm excited about all the new challenges to come.
Striving for dramatic progress, I put forth tremendous effort and discipline with my passion, so that my artwork would bear a mark of distinction.
"Breaking your own rules can only bring new creativity." "If I stay in lukewarm water, it begins to feel like stagnation." "Need ideas that are completely new for the next piece." "Can't fail, it would be the end of the world..."
I'm still tough on my creativity, but if I let go, there's no fun in it.
I'm getting more and more attuned with wild nature. So symbiotic with animals, I've begun to feel like one of them. I've ceased caring about what's going on in society and am no longer interested in spending time and effort to take part in the world anymore.
My workshop is my world. I'm left with no optimistic hope for it. There is no message that will stop us from prioritizing our modern life, convenience, and comfort, driven by desire, need, power, and greed.
An important individual once said to me, "Yes, we might not ever save them, but you can't live like an asshole!" I still put a lot of effort into leaving a smaller ecological footprint, but I don't want to spend exhaustive energy fighting against the opposition. I'd rather spend quality time with allies while we still have time left.
I appreciate and am astonished by their beauty, uniqueness, and unbelievable functionalities. Every single project I worked on with them gave me a once-in-a-lifetime exciting event, a stunningly surprising learning opportunity. I acknowledge that my art and creativity will never even get close to their level of beauty and creativity. I'm just like playing like a child, just putting them into my art, and I'm happy with it.
2021-2025 Studio opening Fitchburg MA.
2023 Duo Exhibition Shirley MA
2019 Solo exhibition (in 14 years) Shirley MA
2001-2005 Multiple group and solo exhibition in Brooklyn and Manhattan NY
2001-2006 Artist’s assistant for Sculptor Helen Blundt
1998-2002 The Art Student League of New York.
1990-1993 Bonheur Design School Tokyo.
1989-1990 Maebashi-Shi Art prep school.