33rd Q Ei Exhibition / Yuasa Collection

Jun. 2 [Fri.] ― Jun. 17 [Sat.] / Jun. 20 [Tue.] ― Jun. 24 [Sat.] 2023 11:00-19:00
Gallery closed Sun., Mon., and national holidays.

*Click images to view in original size

Q Ei (real name SUGITA Hideo, 1911-1960) was an artist who created fertile images from the 1930s to the 1950s, using a variety of techniques including oil painting, photo-dessin, etching, and lithography (OTANI Shogo, Deputy Director of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). Q Ei's reputation as a pioneer of Japanese avant-garde art is growing both in Japan and abroad, and a large-scale "110th Birth Anniversary - Q Ei Flugiloj de esprimo-" was held at the Miyazaki Prefectural Museum of Art in 2021. At that time, for the first time since his death more than 60 years ago, a photo collage and a group of photo-dessins were found and exhibited in the collection of the late YUASA Hideo, a young friend of Q Ei. Until recently, the existence of these works had been unknown, and the exhibition of 11 photo collages at Art Basel Miami Beach 2023, an art fair held in Miami last November, was the first overseas exhibition of these works, and received a great response.

This exhibition is divided into two parts, with the first and the second showing approximately 50 works, including newly discovered photo-dessins, oil paintings, and drawings from YUASA Hideo's former collection, as well as portrait photographs of Q Ei taken by Hideo Yuasa.

YUASA Hideo, who was born in Kagoshima and raised in Miyazaki, began frequenting Q Ei's studio when he was in high school and became interested in the Esperanto spoken by Q Ei and his wife Miyako. He formed an Esperanto club with his friends and learned Esperanto from Q Ei. After Q Ei left Miyazaki and moved to Urawa, he continued to visit Q Ei's studio in Urawa and even stayed at Q Ei's house for a time. He helped Q Ei prepare for exhibitions and produce copperplate prints, and took photographs of his atelier. The portraits of Q Ei taken by Hideo Yuasa at that time are often used and exhibited in retrospective exhibitions after his death as valuable materials to learn about his later years.

A catalog will be published in conjunction with the exhibition (tentative price: 2,750 yen; text: OTANI Shogo, Deputy Director, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; KOBAYASHI Miki, Miyazaki Prefectural Museum of Art; KUDO Kasumi, Yokosuka Museum of Art).

●Exhibition Catalogue
2023　B5　84P
Essays: OTANI Shogo (Deputy Director, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), KOBAYASHI Miki (Miyazaki Prefectural Museum of Art), KUDO Kasumi (Yokosuka Museum of Art)
Design: Takashi Shibata
Published: Watanuki Ltd. | Toki-no-Wasuremono
2,750 yen (tax included) + shipping
*Image captions in Japanese and English, essay in Japanese only

To view catalogue movie, please click the play icon on the center of movie below.

■Q Ei (1911-1960)
Q Ei, whose early work was done under his real name of Hideo Sugita, was born in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1911. At age 15, his criticism started appearing in the art magazines "Atelier" and "Mizue". Q Ei’s first collection of photo-dessins, was published in 1936 as "The Reason for Sleep" (Nemuri No Riyu). In 1937, he set up the art organization "Free Art Association" (Jiyu Bijutsu Kyokai). As to criticize the established public group and Japan art world, he set up "Democratic Artists Association" in 1951.
Q Ei had great influence among the young Japanese artists at that time such as Ay-O, Masuo IKEDA, Yukihisa ISOBE, On KAWARA, and Eikoh HOSOE. He challenged various medium such as oil paintings, photo-dessins, prints, and created a unique world of art. He died in 1960 at the age of 48.

Exhibition View

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