Holiday 23.4×18cm by Q Ei Etching18/50
The artist has a unique style that often combines dreamlike elements and surreal imagery, and this work is no exception.
The paintings are dotted with unusually shaped objects and natural elements, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
His works are known for being visually appealing as well as leaving a lot of room for the viewer's imagination.
Born in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture in 1911 (his family ran an eye clinic in Miyazaki City, but he was unable to take over the family business due to his extreme myopia). His real name was Hideo Sugita.
1925: Dropped out of Miyazaki Junior High School (now Miyazaki Prefectural Miyazaki Omiya High School) and moved to Tokyo to graduate from the Japan Art School.
In 1934, he met the painter Mitsuharu Yamada (then a teacher) who would become his lifelong friend.
1935: First entry into the Central Art Exhibition. Formed the artist club Furusatosha with Yamada and others (around this time he developed close friendships with art critic Usaburo Toyama and painter Saburo Hasegawa).
In April 1936, he published a photogram collection titled "Reasons for Sleep" under the name of Q Ei, with a limited run of 40 copies.
There are 10 photographs sandwiched between the cover, but as there are no page numbers or work numbers, the order and orientation are unknown.
Q Ei's photograms differ from those of Man Ray and others in that they use stencils based on drawings, and are therefore called photo-drawings.
In 1937, he exhibited his collage series "Real" at the 1st Free Artists Association Exhibition. After World War II, he focused on painting and printmaking (copperplate engravings and lithographs).
In 1951, he moved to Urawa City, Saitama Prefecture (now Urawa Ward, Saitama City) and began to actively engage in artistic production. In the same year, he formed the Democrat Artists Association with Shigeru Izumi and Yoshio Hayakawa. He also participated in the Free Artists Association and the Creative Art Education Association, and formed a close friendship with Toshinobu Onosato.
In 1960, he died at the age of 48 due to heart failure. His wife Miyako did not remarry after Q Ei's death, and continued to protect his works and donate them to museums until she was 106 years old.