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Artist 松井秀一 Matsui Hideichi

松井秀一

INTERVIEWInterview

Shuichi Matsui

Please tell us about your encounter with art.

When I was 18 years and 10 months old, I broke my neck bone in a car accident. Since then, I have had a disability in both hands and feet and am currently a wheelchair user. He started his art activities in 2020. If a listener who is live streaming on SNS and sees a picture of a self-made wheelchair basketball that he set as an icon for his account, why don't you try drawing a picture? It was because he recommended it.

At first, I printed out the outline I drew on my computer and drew it in the form of coloring it with watercolor. But gradually, this way of drawing becomes a little bland. If I were to hold a solo exhibition in the future, I would like to paint a full-fledged picture worthy of a frame, and since 2022, I have been painting on canvas with acrylic paints. Since I can't move my hands freely, I fix them with a brush with clothespins when I draw, and ask my parents to help me when I take out the paint.

What other activities do you do besides your art activities?

He is a sportsman who devoted himself to baseball until high school, and even after being disabled in an accident, he still belongs to the Toyama Prefecture team of wheelchair twin basketball and works as a team representative. In addition, he is also a personality for Okinawan FM called Okiraji, and is working hard with three pairs of straw sandals.

Is there anything that is important to you when creating?

What is important when drawing is to make the other person happy. I often receive requests from listeners to draw pictures like this, and I am grateful that the other person is happy or says that they are happy. At first, I was trying to make a living from the art industry, but gradually I changed to want to paint pictures that would please the people who looked at me. Actually, I'm not very good at portraits, but when I am asked, I do my best to draw them.

Please tell us about your recent activities.

Until now, I was working in the art industry as a sole proprietor, but recently I decided to join a staffing company. In October of this year, I was able to exhibit five of my works at an exhibition held at Carnegie Hall in New York, USA. It was also triggered by a recommendation from a fellow artist I met through live streaming activities. I didn't go to the site to entrust it to him, but I was happy to receive a commemorative certificate for the exhibition and the listeners were happy to say "congratulations".

I began to feel that my art business was gradually sprouting, such as being able to paint while earning a stable monthly income by belonging to a company and exhibiting my own paintings in New York. At a company, I belong to the human resources department and am able to work by drawing portraits of employees, making use of my talent for drawing.

It is often said that it is positive and negative, but if you live thinking about negative things, you will only be in the bad way, and if you think about positive things, you will only be good. I think there is a law of attraction, so I only think about positive things. However, I think that there are still bad things that cannot be avoided. Still, there are good things because there are bad things, so I try to think that this is the end of it.

 

Please tell us about your representative work and your thoughts on your representative work.

I am good at drawing landscapes, but my favorite is the painting of "Mt. Fuji". Blue Fuji has the meaning of immortality, and red Fuji has the meaning of wish fulfillment, which is auspicious. I have almost died in an accident, and I feel that there is some overlap with my roots. I would like to continue to draw pictures of Mt. Fuji with the desire to get my business on track and liven up the region through painting.

"Red Fuji" Written by: Shuichi Matsui

Please tell us about your future prospects and goals.

I would like to open a store in Okinawa based on my connection with Okiraji, and I also want to focus on Japan paintings that foreigners like for inbound tourism. There are many things I want to do.
In addition, Toyama Prefecture, where I live now, has Tonami Tulip Park, a tourist destination visited by people from all over the country, and the Tsuzawa Yataka Andon Festival is held. Across from the house, there is a warehouse of a lumber shop, which is a family business, and the warehouse is located in a position that can be seen from the highway and national highway. So, by painting my own picture on the exterior wall, what is this? I hope that it will lead to attracting customers to my family business and my own solo exhibition, and I would be even happier if it would lead to the revitalization of the region.

I am able to be active, but there are many people with disabilities around me who can move normally but cannot find a place to work. I also think that I can grow my business and hire such people as well. To do that, you must first become famous. I want to continue to do what I can until I die.

His art activities, which began with a single word from a listener, have now spread across the ocean to New York. With the pure desire to "make others happy" in his heart, Shuichi Matsui puts the dream of regional revitalization into the picture of Mt. Fuji and also looks at the social mission of employing people with disabilities. His attitude of attracting new connections one after another with a positive mindset and saying, "I want to continue doing what I can until I die," will give courage to many people. I have high hopes for Mr. Matsui's future activities, which will be a force that will move the community and society.

EXHIBITIONS Exhibition Information

2026.03.01 - 2026.03.15

Shuichi Matsui Web Solo Exhibition Fuji of the power of life Beyond the inconvenience

In this exhibition, we have a selection of works with various expressions, such as blue Fuji and red Fuji, so that everyone who loves Mt. Fuji, from children to the elderly, can enjoy it.

I have been living in a wheelchair since I broke my neck bone in a car accident when I was 18 years and 11 months old, but when I draw, I forget about that inconvenience and get carried away.
What I was particular about was to express the overwhelming energy of Mt. Fuji in as many colors as I can now. Each of these strokes contains the "power to live" that I found by crawling up from the bottom of the past.

I would be happy if my current heart, which is not succumbed to inconvenience and actively enjoys every day, will be delivered to everyone through the appearance of Mt. Fuji. No matter what the situation is, there is infinite freedom and fun to express.
I hope that the Mt. Fuji I draw will lead to your health.