With an international audience hungry for Junko Mizuno's graceful images of hellish honeys, it's no wonder that the young artist is looking to the West.
While her manga books, exhibitions and commercial illustrations are largely overlooked in Japan, art lovers in America and all over Europe are smitten by the scenes of debauched depravity that feature twisted heroines whose outfits would make pop-temptress Kumi Koda blush.
Mizuno, aged 34, is sweet and unassuming on the surface, although she assures us of a hidden temper more akin to that of her characters. Her latest exhibition, "Tender Succubus," opened on Oct. 6 at Nucleus in Los Angeles, casting her alongside Mizna Wada and Alayna Magnan, two other female artists known for their naughty imagery. The show precedes a move to San Francisco, where Mizuno plans to make her home among the thriving art scene.