Sei Watabane (1950-2022) - House of light

House of Light

Renowned Japanese contemporary artist SEI WATANABE (TOKYO, 1950 - BARCELONA, 2022) presents an iconic neo-expressionist masterpiece from 1991: House of Light - a mixed media on cardboard (76 x 57 cm), boldly signed and dated.

A geometric house-form with recognizable gable glows from within against the night—layered turquoise-blue strokes form translucent walls, warm orange fire pulsing beneath like an inner soul, blending raw reality with dreamlike reverie.

Expressive broad-brush layering builds visceral depth: construction, geometry, light, and abstraction fuse in fervent energy. Wood frame. Excellent condition. Essential modern Japanese art commanding collector attention.
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About the artist:
Sei Watanabe (Tokyo, 1950 – Barcelona, 2022) was a Japanese-Catalan painter whose work was deeply rooted in the tradition of expressionist painting. In 1972 he moved to Barcelona, where in 1978 he graduated from the prestigious Escola Superior de Belles Arts Sant Jordi — today the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona.

His painterly heart belonged to the Mediterranean coast, above all to the luminous, humid landscapes of the Empordà and Mallorca. "Feeling must dominate over thought," he told the newspaper Baleares in 1990 — a sentence that encapsulates his entire body of work. House of Light is very much in this spirit: a work that does not describe, but feels — colour and light as the direct expression of an inner state.

Watanabe was also a cultural bridge between Japan and Catalonia, contributing to projects such as the film Souvenir by Rosa Vergés. His work was exhibited in leading galleries including the Galeria del Born in Barcelona, the Helena Ramos gallery in Cadaqués, and the Joan Oliver Maneu gallery in Palma. In 1990 he received the Drawing Medal at the XLIX Autumn Salon in Palma de Mallorca.

He came from an artistic family — his father was the painter Yuichiro Watanabe.