Palimpsest of Phantasm: An imaginary art garden　vol. 10 Oshima Tetsui

vol. 10　Oshima Tetsui｜大島 哲以

---

Oshima Tetsui was originally a Japanese painter in the folk painting style, depicting demons and animals, but in the early 1970s he went to Vienna on an overseas study trip organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, where he came into contact with the Vienna Fantastic School, an art group founded by the Austrian painter Ernst Fuchs, and studied under the master Wolfgang Hutter, who taught him mixed techniques. After returning to Japan, he became one of Japan’s most distinctive fantasy painters, and influenced younger artists who aspired to create fantasy works.

Oshima’s masterpieces are sensual, sometimes sad, grotesque female figures, tormented and tortured by the evil spirit of roses. After suffering through their torture, they drown in a fountain of pleasure, finding peace in the solitude of human existence. In Oshima’s fantasies, it is as if the cruel chaos often stimulates sensuality, gradually transforming into leisure.

Oshima Tetsui is a fantasy painter known only to a select few, but he deserves to be looked at once again and reevaluated, along with Akiyoshi Ran and Fujino Kazutomo, who were slightly older than Oshima and also attempted and built up unique fantasy expressions under the influence of Surrealism. As a selector, I would be delighted if this web project can be a part of opening that door.

---

Artist

Oshima Tetsui｜大島 哲以

Born in 1926 in Nagoya City, Aichi. In Osaka, he studied under the Japanese-style painter Teii Nakamura and exhibited at the Inten. In 1971-72 he stayed in Vienna on an overseas study tour of the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Oshima is a Japanese-style painter known for his sensual, and sometimes sorrowful, odd-shaped female figures whose bodies are invaded by roses and tormented, while he also used acrylic mixed techniques.
Mainichi Shimbun “Tetsui Oshima Exhibition” (1973, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi), “Prospects of Japanese Art – Japanese Painting Exhibition” (1981, Toyama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art), “Visions” (1982, Wurzburg Museum, 83, Isetan Museum of Art), “Japanese Nudes” (1988, Saitama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art), “Development of 20th Century Paintings” (1988, Nagoya City Art Museum), etc. During his lifetime, Oshima enthusiastically worked on solo exhibitions at department stores and exhibitions at museums. He passed away in 1999. His works have been collected by numerous museums, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Hiratsuka City Museum of Art, Nagoya City Museum of Art, and the Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art.

Art critic

Soma Toshiki｜相馬 俊樹

Born in 1965. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy, Department of Aesthetics and Art History. Art critic.
Numerous books on the expression of eroticism and fantasy art.