Toshio Sasaki
b. 1946, Kyoto, Japan | d. 2007
Sun Gate, 1988
Charcoal on paper
Courtesy Asian American Art Centre and Think!Chinatown

Toshio Sasaki’s public work proposal Sun Gate hypothesizes a futuristic vision of the Manhattan Bridge entrance into Chinatown. In lieu of the Leon Moisseff, Porte Saint-Denis-inspired design seen today, Sasaki depicts a hovering ovular form that rests on sleek, cylindrical colonnades over the bridge’s ramp to Canal Street. Sasaki’s rendering was part of a fourteen-person 1988 exhibition at the AAAC titled Public Art Chinatown. The exhibition highlighted artistic visions for Chinatown’s artistic landscape and aimed to bring local and global attention to Asian American arts. Kyoto, Japan-born Sasaki, who also trained as an architect before coming to New York, worked on many public art projects after his arrival to the City, including a commission at the New York City Aquarium. Sun Gate speculates on the typical gates seen in Chinatowns across the globe, also known as the paifang 牌坊. Sasaki’s version considers these historical contexts while speaking to New York City’s urban environment.