Artist Asami Kiyokawa was born on September 15, 1979, on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture. Having loved drawing since childhood, Kiyokawa moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school and enrolled in Bunka Fashion College. While there, she worked as a model in fashion magazines such as Zipper, CUTiE, and A-GIRL. Later, for her graduation project, she invented a unique technique of drawing pictures using fabric and a sewing machine. After terminating her contract with her modeling agency, she began her career as an artist. In 2006, she released the "Beauty Collection" series, which features photographs decorated with embroidery and computer graphics. By combining plants and animals associated with the images of the women she photographs, she transforms the women themselves into works of art. This became a part of her life's work, and she began a serialization in the lifestyle magazine FRaU titled "Beauty Collection neo." In 2012, the "Asami Kiyokawa | Beauty Collection" exhibition broke the record for the largest attendance at Omotesando Hills. Meanwhile, the beauty magazine "Voce" launched the "DANSHI" series, a male version of "Beauty Collection." An exhibition of this work was held at Tokyo Parco in 2013. In addition to exhibiting her artwork, she is also active in a wide range of fields, including costume design, video, and advertising. She designs CD jackets and artist merchandise, and also directs dramas, films, and commercials. She has been publishing picture books since 2006, and in 2012, her collaborative work with Shuntaro Tanikawa, "Are There Gods?", was selected as Japan's representative at the International Children's Book Fair held in London. In 2013, she held an exhibition of original illustrations for the picture book "Alice in the Nursery," based on Lewis Carroll's version of "Alice in the Nursery," a children's version of the novel.
She also serves as the MC for the BS Nippon Television program "TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK.tv." She has also appeared on numerous television and radio programs. In 2012, she was appointed art director for the mail-order company "Nissen." She produced the company's costumes and catalogs. In 2013, she appeared at Shibuya Parco's Christmas event wearing an Alexander McQueen dress. In 2014, she designed the Starbucks "Butterfly" card.
