“While I breathe, I hope.”
Teiji Hayama was born in Japan but moved to London and graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in 1998. During this time he also worked as a male model and appeared in many international magazines. He subsequently returned to Japan for a period to work with Issey Miyake and now lives in Switzerland.
Hayama’s paintings bring together both western and Japanese influences and his work commonly exhibits a range of historical genres including Christianity, Greek mythology and Japanese pop culture.
Pale skinned, nude nymphs are a frequent feature of Hayama’s work - girls on the verge of becoming women - in a style which exhibits the social and psychological changes of young girls. “I want my portraits to have a psychological charge and the viewer to feel the fragility of this phase of life.”
Hayama’s art is influenced by the ancient and modern; the traditional and eccentric. The influences of having grown up in a Shinto environment and going on to study at a Protestant Christian school having an obvious impact on his artistic expression.
The materials of Hayama’s art, his use of cut and etched oil painted on wood can be seen equally as paintings flirting with sculpture and vice versa.
Hayama actively exhibits in art shows around the globe.
Want to learn more about Teiji Hayama?
“I want my portraits to have a psychological charge…” ~ Teiji Hayama
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