Street cred

It was clear that Hideki's stint in a mental hospital only added to his credibility as an avant-garde artist; he had suffered for his art.

As a newly minted graduate of BCCAD, it didn’t take long before the Canadian art world began to recognize and promote Hideki’s work. His balloon pieces were on display in the most toney art galleries across the country, and were starting to sell, too, for increasingly high prices. However, success in his adopted home country could not rival the heights of fame he achieved in the European Art World. Hideki’s European debut was in a tiny, avant-garde art gallery in London, attended by an exclusive clientele of art collectors. Word soon spread, and, before long, his works were being displayed in Stockholm, Munich, Paris and Rome.