The art of Sadao Hasegawa, 1945–1999
(No title) from Sadao Hasegawa 01 (1990).
It’s good to be able to finish the year with another artistic discovery. I’d not come across Sadao Hasegawa’s work before but this page has an extensive (complete?) selection of his paintings and drawings. This is gay erotica with a twist, being Japanese in origin yet incorporating figures and symbolism derived from Indian or Thai mythology, detailed psychotropic invention and the kind of angular motifs common in much illustration and design of the 1980s. A heady brew, in other words, and quite unique as a result, which makes it all the more tragic that he committed suicide in 1999. At least one of his books, Paradise Visions, is still available in Japan but a decent collection of his work for a western audience is obviously long overdue.
Paradise Visions (1996).
Dragon God (1981).
Secret Ritual (1987).
Mandi (1989).
Distintegration (1996).
Paradise Visions (1996).
Paradise Visions (1996).
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5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Thombeau
I’ve been a fan of his work for years, but have never seen this much at one place. Thanks for the link!
Some of it reminds me a bit of the work of my friend Philip Shadbolt, who no doubt is familiar with Hasegawa.
Jan 1st, 2008
John
He gets a mention in The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts but that book is woefully lacking in pictures and rather slights him as a Tom of Finland imitator when he’s far more than that.
Philip Shadbolt was the artist who came to mind for me as well, and that reminds me that I ought to feature some of his work here.
Jan 1st, 2008
the other andrew
I remember seeing quite a bit of Hasegawa’s work in magazines in the eighties, but hadn’t seen it for ages. Thanks for the reminder!
Jan 1st, 2008
Callum
Hasegawa was one of the first homoerotic oeuvre’s I came across on the internet. Now that ‘The Other Andrew’ mentions it, I’m fairly sure I remember his work being on, if not the cover, then some fairly prominent pages of Gay Times in the 80s. I particularly love the last one on your post here - there’s something about intricacy in art which I really enjoy! And obvioiusly, a bit of cock helps too!
Jan 2nd, 2008
mesmanispace@live.nl
Hasegawa is the best in Erotic Art
wonderfull galleries like fairytales
BEAUTYFULL
greetings from the netherlands.
May 6th, 2008
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