Q Ei, whose early work was done under his real name of Hideo Sugita, was born in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1911. At age 15, his criticism started appearing in the art magazines “Atelier” and “Mizue”. Q Ei’s first collection of photo-dessins, was published in 1936 as “The Reason for Sleep” (Nemuri No Riyu). In 1937, he set up the art organization “Free Art Association” (Jiyu Bijutsu Kyokai). As to criticize the established public group and Japan art world, he set up “Democratic Artists Association” in 1951.

Q Ei had great influence among the young Japanese artists at that time such as Ay-O, Masuo IKEDA, Yukihisa ISOBE, On KAWARA, and Eikoh HOSOE. He challenged various medium such as oil paintings, photo-dessins, prints, and created a unique world of art. He died in 1960 at the age of 48.