Artist Spotlight on Testsuya Ishida

Tetsuya Ishida was born in 1974 in Shizuoka, Japan. His paintings were known for their dark portrayal of ordinary Japanese life. The characters in his paintings always appeared unhappy while being trapped or as a part of a machine or other objects.

He died on May 23, 2005 by being hit by a train. His death was ruled as an "accident". However, because of the dark nature of his artwork, there are those who consider his death to be a suicide.

Because of the dark nature of his work and the circumstances surrounding his death, increase in Ishida's work has increased dramatically.

Ishida left behind about 180 pieces created during his 10-year art career.