- Japanese artist Izumi Kato has sold $3 million worth of finger paintings so far this year.
- A Kato painting can go from $250,000 to $300,000, while his sculptures are often $25,000 to $35,000.
Great news for parents of kids who love to finger paint: their work, if good enough, might just be able to make it off the refrigerator door and into the hands of wealthy buyers.
A Japanese artist has made millions this year by auctioning off his finger painting to art lovers across the world.
Izumi Kato, an artist who splits his time between Tokyo and Hong Kong, has auctioned off more than $3 million worth of his finger paintings this year alone, ArtNet News reported. That's a huge jump from 2018, when Kato's auction totals came to $344,372, according to ArtNet.
Kato specializes in crafting eerie, "embryonic" figures by painting with his fingers directly onto a canvas.
Kato's work takes the form of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. A large Kato painting can sell for between $250,000 and $300,000, while his smaller sculptures are often $25,000 to $35,000 a piece, according to ArtNet.
Kato doesn't just stick to traditional materials, either. He oftentimes finger paints onto found materials like rocks.
"The feeling I have when I paint on stone is that I am painting on something that other people have already created, so it's more of a collaboration," Kato told ArtNet.