I loved drawing from a young age and recognized it as my specialty. When I was about 14 years old, I started learning to draw because I wanted to be able to create something special with my own hands.
I started with drawing, then experienced watercolor painting, and finally ended up with oil painting. I felt that drawing and watercolor painting were very similar, and I felt that watercolor painting was a colored drawing. Among them, oil paintings have a rather unique impression, and I felt that they fit most comfortably in my hand. Since then, I have continued to paint in oil.
InterviewFeatured Artist
He started painting at the age of 14, and after drawing and watercolor, he moved on to oil painting. Inspired by Hans Vermeer's puppet work, he established his own style. We will approach the thoughts of Tetsusei Kusada, who continues to pursue the beauty of human beings that certainly exist in the abyss.
Production scenery
Please tell us how you started drawing.
Please tell us your style when drawing your work.
The time and timing of drawing are different. For example, sometimes I wake up at 5 a.m. and start drawing, and sometimes I stay up until that time and sleep from there. When I start drawing, I concentrate on it, and while I wait for the oil to dry, I use it for preparatory work such as sketching.
There are two patterns when drawing a sketch, one is the feeling that the brush moves forward the moment you put the pencil on the paper. The other is to have an overall image from the beginning and draw it on a blank sheet of paper. Sometimes things don't go as well as I want, but drawing itself doesn't bother me at all. When I am facing the work, I feel like I am having a one-on-one dialogue.
「Still alive in rainforest」
作：桒田哲誠
I heard that you had a serious illness when you were 17 years old, but has that experience influenced your current style?
I had osteomyelitis in my right jaw and was hospitalized for about a month. The symptoms seemed to be quite special, and I went to the hospital for treatment for a while before I was hospitalized. Until I was discharged from the hospital after surgery, I was thinking about my future. The answer I got was my desire to continue painting. After that, I began to think about how I could continue to draw for the rest of my life.
First of all, I think I have no choice but to continue drawing. Also, I often receive advice from various people that it is better to compete overseas, so I would like to set up a base overseas in the future.
I think this experience had a big impact. At the same time, I also met the doll works of Hans Vermeer, a German painter, photographer, and puppeteer. Since I was little, I have tended to be strongly attracted to shapes and lines. For example, picking up fallen leaves that have fallen leaves and collecting beautiful stones. When I saw Vermeer's work, I felt like I was connected to my desire to be attracted to the form within me, and I intuitively thought that this was it. Since then, he has continued to paint in his current style.
"Moonlight bath"
Written by: Tetsusei Kuda
You won the Special Jury Prize in 2023, how did you feel at that time?
I won an award for a work called Moonlight Bath, which depicts No. 50 in two pieces, but at first I didn't really feel it at all. I thought I would never receive a big award in my life. But I was very happy that the judges said that it was like remembering Vermeer's work.
Please tell us about the use of colors in your work.
So far, I have worked on works in various colors such as blue, green, and yellow. Among them, red was the one that I felt was the most compatible. I also changed the way I drew blue and red. The blue work is highlighted in white, but in the case of red, the highlight is made by scraping the paint and making use of the white of the base. This method has been used since around the 15th century, when oil painting was born, and I like the old-fashioned way of drawing, so I have adopted it.
Please tell us what you want to convey through your work.
I feel that the current social situation and atmosphere are declining and declining, and I believe that the answer to this lies in the beauty of human beings that I feel. My style is decadent and will continue in this style in the future. Maybe there are moments in the work where you feel cruelty or grotesqueness. But on the other hand, I hope you can also feel the beauty that exists there.
Just as I was inspired by Vermeer, I don't have to be everyone, so I want to continue to create works that pierce someone deeply.
After a serious illness at the age of 17, he decided to continue painting for the rest of his life. His encounter with Hans Vermeer established his current style, and he finds human beauty in decadent expression. Expectations are high for his future activities as he continues to pursue the beauty that exists in the abyss and create works that penetrate deeply into someone's heart.
Interview: 2026/02/18