A ritual practice developed at international scale
André Minato is a Salvadoran contemporary painter whose work brings together ritual, performance, movement, and material research. His practice is defined by disciplined process, ambitious scale, and a visual language built for sustained presence.
Minato's signature use of the katana as a painting instrument is informed by years of Iaido study in Japan. The sword is not used as spectacle, but as a demanding extension of the body - translating balance, tension, speed, and release into large-format gesture. Japanese ritual discipline meets Salvadoran heritage throughout the work, creating a contemporary practice concerned with transformation, memory, and elemental force.
Before committing to art full-time in 2021, Minato spent more than a decade in international creative direction and brand management. That experience is visible in the precision with which complex projects are conceived and delivered. His work moves fluently between the studio, public space, institutional presentation, and live performance, with a clear process from initial brief to final installation.
Material and method
Katana-led painting, controlled movement, and layered material research form a distinctive practice shaped by ritual rather than decorative convention.
Scale and presence
The work extends from singular studio paintings to monumental public installations and live performances developed for carefully selected settings.
Private commissions
Bespoke paintings, paired narrative works, and private performance formats are developed individually for serious private, corporate, and institutional contexts.
Two large-scale public art campaigns across Berlin, each comprising 300 citylight posters and billboards.
Solar Dance presented in Tokyo, alongside the international Thousand Swords project.
The Edge of the Horizon I and II presented in Guatemala and Mexico City.
Ultra Symphony and Flower's Memory presented in Seoul, South Korea.
Kagura Dance / The Purification of Izanagi, a live ritual performance created in dialogue with Kagura musicians in Miyazaki, Japan.
Projects presented across El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico City, Berlin, Tokyo, Dubai, Miyazaki, and Seoul.
AEGIS/Miramar represents André Minato exclusively for Europe. Collector and commission inquiries are handled privately, with scope, scale, placement, production, and logistics developed as one process.
