We’re pleased to introduce Sei Hashimoto’s paintings.

Paris is a uniquely beautiful city. Once a person tastes the charm and beauty of Paris, the memory of Paris will stay with him or her forever.They consist of cobblestone streets that create a romantic landscape, cafes and restaurants in a variety of colors and many beautiful buildings that are full of individual charm and express the refined taste of their inhabitants. Sei Hashimoto, born in Kobe in 1938, felt the nostalgic beauty of the streets of Paris that he could relate to Kobe, where he grew up, and developed a unique pastel technique that he has been using for nearly 50 years. The streets of Paris that Hashimoto depicts have a certain unique and mysterious quality, and his works convey to us an even more fascinating image of the city. Over the past 30 years, his works, created with his unique technique and charming sensibility, have maintained his immense popularity as one of the top pastel artists in Japan. In analyzing the reason for this, it can be said that Hashimoto's artwork vividly inherits the Japanese sensibility that formed the origin of Japonism, which greatly influenced painters such as Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and others in the past. The boldness of the compositions and the atmosphere of the paintings are also expressed in various elements in his contemporary paintings. By painting with a unique pastel technique, the artist gives the depicted city of Paris a romantic and exotic charm that makes it seem richer than it actually is. He paints as if he were brushing several colors of pastels onto paper as if he were applying layers of paint with his fingertips, creating very sophisticated and appealing colors. In addition, the expression of light, which can be felt in various ways, as if one were there at that very moment, seems like magic created by the artist's fingertips. Although there are many painters who depict the city of Paris, Sei Hashimoto's depiction of Paris is sure to delight you with its one-of-a-kind charm forever.