Born as the eldest son of Toshimitsu Imai, a central artist in the postwar Paris abstract painting movement known as Art Informel, he trained under the famous photographer David Bailey before returning to Japan and attracting a great deal of attention in the 1980s with the various photographic works he produced. Since then, he has continued to energetically create paintings. Many of his works are colorful and fun, but he also has many excellent abstract paintings, making him one of the most noteworthy contemporary artists.
■ Informel painting
The paintings are colorful and free-styled. The dripping and splashing of paint express a free spirit, and have an underlying theme in the paintings of his father, Toshimitsu Imai, that he saw as a child.
