Painter, born in Tokyo in 1981.
In addition to working in his art studio, Asai has been creating “masking plants” since 2003, work in which he draws plants on masking tape with permanent markers. Asai creates works of art from many diverse elements of the environment, such as using the clay and water he collected to draw animals and plants which is called “doroe”, or using a cloth the same texture as the white lines on an asphalt road melted down with a burner to cut animal/plant shapes out of, which he called the “shokubutsu ni natta hakusen (the white lines that became animals)”. Recently, he has been in the spotlight for creating a doroe masterpiece over 10 m tall. Asai’s artwork, where the macro exists within the micro is like a representation of a galaxy. Looking closer, the animals and plants are fitted closely to each other and smaller animals may appear within larger animals. One of his well-known recent works is “Yusuke Asai – “E no tane, tsuchi no tabi” (2015-2016) presented in a solo exhibition at the Mori Art Museum and “Ikitoshi ikerumono” (2016) at the Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum, “Setouchi Kokusai Geijutsu sai” (2013-2016, Inujima), “Echigo-tsumari Art Triennale 2015”. Asai participates in numerous art projects around the world such as his solo exhibition “Yamatane” (2014) at the Rice University Art Gallery in Houston. In 2014, Asai won the 24th Takashimaya Art Award, in 2012 the 61st Kanagawa Culture Award Mirai Award and the Ohara Art Museum Award with “VOCA-ten 2009” (The Ueno Royal Museum) in 2009.