Artists | MAKI Gallery | MAKI

Born in 1979 in Awaji Island in Hyogo, Japan, Asami Kiyokawa currently lives and works in Tokyo. Kiyokawa first came to public attention as an amateur fashion model, and in the 2000s, while studying fashion at Bunka Fashion College, she began her creative practice as an artist exploring “the possibilities of fashion and self-expression.” Since her first solo exhibition SAUCE in 2001, Kiyokawa has held numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad, and has consistently attracted a high level of attention for her work. Kiyokawa’s work focuses on and visualizes the contradictions that arise between the inside and outside of an individual’s identity in a society exposed daily to vast amounts of information through social media and magazines. She is known for her unique technique of embroidery on photographs, magazines, books, and fabrics, and her signature series include Beauty Collection, Complex, and TOKYO MONSTER. In recent years, her forms of expression and activities broadly range from creative work in costume, advertising, film, space and product design, to producing picture books and working on regional revitalization projects.
Kiyokawa’s solo exhibitions include Mirror World, MAKI Gallery (Tokyo, 2023); TOKYO MONSTER, reloaded, GINZA ATRIUM, GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS (Tokyo, 2021); Incarnation, ARARIO GALLERY SHANGHAI (Shanghai, 2019); ADASTRIA Beauty Collection by ASAMI KIYOKAWA, Omotesando Hills (Tokyo, 2018); Asami Kiyokawa –Bisaishu–, Kanaz Forest of Creation (Fukui, 2015); and Beauty Collection, Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery (Ibaraki, 2011). She has also participated in various group exhibitions and multiple art fairs across the globe. Kiyokawa has been the recipient of several awards including ASIAGRAPH Creator’s Award (2013) and VOGUE JAPAN Women of the Year (2012).