môme ASSANO is a contemporary visual artist living and working in Hashima City, a town just northwest of Nagoya, Japan. môme gained his first professional experience in Tokyo, working as a designer and illustrator for an advertising company. He then moved to France where he spent 6 years in Paris working as a designer in fashion-related textiles. Upon returning from Paris to Tokyo, he launched his “môme ASSANO” brand, which attained national distribution through companies creating fashion and lifestyle products. In 2000, he relocated his atelier from Tokyo back to his hometown, Hashima City, where he established a private gallery within his studio.

Known for his whimsical and light-hearted style, môme’s artistic goal is to offer people an escape from the more serious issues of daily life. This can be seen in the work he calls “Homo Ornamentus” or “Man Adorned”: a series of paintings representing the human desire to seek things that make people happy, and decorate themselves in a celebration of life.

To create his art, môme uses a range of materials including acrylics and ink, and applies these to a very special paper, available only in Japan. The result is a product of superior quality; paintings with a unique texture, vibrancy, and feel.

Currently, môme is holding an exhibition of paintings called “Traveling Painting Project” both in Japan and internationally. This year 2024, marks his 46th anniversary as a designer and painter.