Satoru Abe

Satoru Abe is an American sculptor and painter. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1926. He attended President William McKinley High School, where he took art lessons from Shirley Ximena Hopper Russell. In 1948, after spending a summer at the California School for Fine Arts, he decided to pursue an art career in New York City and attended the Art Students League of New York where he studied with George Grosz, Louis Bouche and Jon Carrol. He married a fellow student and returned to Hawaii in 1950 with his wife, Ruth, and daughter Gail. After returning to Hawaii, Abe met local artist Isami Doi, who would become a close friend and mentor, and began a series of copper work experiments with fellow artist Bumpei Akaji. In 1956, Abe returned to New York and found a creative home at The Sculpture Center, where his original work attracted the attention of gallery owners and others. In 1963, Abe was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Abe returned to Hawai'i in 1970. Along with Bumpei Akaji, Edmund Chung, Tetsuo Ochikubo, Jerry T. Okimoto, James Park, and Tadashi Sato, Satoru Abe was a member of the Metcalf Chateau, a group of seven Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu.

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. The eerily figurative Two Abstract Figures in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art typifies this aspect of hhis work. The Honolulu Museum of Art and the Hawaii State Art Museum are among the public collections holding works of Satoru Abe. 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, 1996
• Reaching for the Sun, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997
• Early Spring, Aiea High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1976
• A Community Surrounded by Sugar Cane, Kamiloa 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