May 20, 2019 - Takato Yamamoto (b.1960) is a Japanese painter and manga artist. He is most known for developing a unique style that he termed "Heisei aestheticism", which blends influences from Japanese ukiyo-e painting with Western gothic art to create dark, but beautiful images. His surrealistic and highly detailed works often explore themes of violence, death and sexuality to create unsettling and highly symbolic imagery. Yamamoto's art often deals with crude themes, but explores them in a startling delicate manner. It's this delicacy that entices a viewer to appreciate often horrifying images in an unusually adoring way. One of my favorite things about Yamamoto's work, is that this sense of delicacy extends to his books as well. Because he doesn't do much commercial work, if any, Yamamoto showcases his art in series of wonderfully produced books. These small format books…