Emi Kusano

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Emi Kusano is a Tokyo-born Japanese artist, also known as Emi Satellite. Born on August 4, 1990, she works across digital and AI art with a retro-futuristic style. She teaches part-time at the Tokyo University of the Arts and is the producer and vocalist of Satellite Young, a synthwave music project she leads.

Her art combines nostalgia for the pre‑internet era with modern technology to explore culture, love, and society today. Kusano’s work has been shown around the world in museums and galleries, including the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Saatchi Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Key projects and achievements:
- AI-generated 3D dress created in collaboration with Christie’s New York and Gucci.
- Co-founder of the crowdfunded anime studio Shinsei Galverse; its 8,888‑piece NFT collection topped OpenSea for days and it produced the official music video for Tove Lo’s “I like u” in 2023.
- Notable artworks and series: Neural Fad (AI fashion history, sold out at Bright Moments Tokyo), Synthetic Reflections (self-portrait series on SuperRare), Melancholic Magical Maiden (Art Blocks Curated, 2024), Pixelated Perception (Art Blocks Marfa), Techno‑Animism.
- Active in the NFT and AI art scenes, with large-scale exhibitions and collaborations, including a two‑week Art Basel world tour that sold hundreds of pieces.
- She has spoken on AI and copyright at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2025.

Personal:
- Kusano has two sons. In 2021 she minted a pixel-art piece by her older son, Zombie Zoo Keeper, on OpenSea; it was bought by Trevor McFedries and Steve Aoki for about $21,800.