Masaaki Sasamoto’s Gilded, Surreal Worlds

Tokyo-born artist Masaaki Sasamoto creates surreal worlds bathed in gold, mixing mythological iconography and the painter’s own, distinctive figures. The butterfly is one of the most common components in Sasamoto’s work, whether enveloping his subjects or fully embedded into them. Some of these scenes also carry notes of steampunk and futuristic, manga-inspired flourishes.

The artist is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he specialized in Japanese painting. He went on to have his work featured in shows across the country.

See more of the artist’s work below.