Basic data

Takashi Murakami is a famous Japanese artist and entrepreneur, known for his playful works that explore the borderline between high and pop culture. His art is characterized by a colorful and cheerful style that often uses characters and motifs from Japanese pop culture, especially manga and anime.

• Born: February 1, 1962
• Place of birth: Tokyo, Japan
• Nationality: Japanese
• Studied at: Tokyo University of the Arts
• Similar artists: KAWS, Jeff Koons
• Era: Contemporary art
• Stylistic direction: Pop art, Superflat

Biography

Takashi Murakami was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1962 and studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he earned both his bachelor's and PhD degrees in nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting technique. However, Murakami soon began to question the limits of this traditional form and turn to contemporary art.

In the 1990s, he developed his signature and popular "superflat" aesthetic, which alludes to both the flat imagery of manga and anime culture and the conceptual flattening of culture and art in postmodern Japan.

In 1996, he founded Hiropon Factory, a studio later renamed Kaikai Kiki, which helped him produce his work on a larger scale and foster young artists. Murakami has also had several successful collaborations with fashion brands and musicians in his career, including Louis Vuitton and Kanye West.

His work, which often questions and critiques the transition between high and pop culture, has been exhibited worldwide, including solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Today, Murakami is recognized as one of the most prominent contemporary artists in Japan and lives and works in Tokyo.

Exhibitions

• 24.06.2023 - 10.09.2023 Collection1 80/90/00/10 - National Museum of Art Osaka.
• 23.06.2023 - 12.12.2023 The Cuteness Factor - Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest.
• 10.06.2023 - 22.12.2023 Takashi Murakami. Understanding the New Cognitive Domain - Gagosian Gallery Paris & Le Bourget
• 26.01.2023 - 16.04.2023 Takashi Murakami: Murakamizombie - Busan Museum of Art, Busan.
• 13.11.2020 - 31.01.2021 CHRISTMAS GIFT - Weserburg Bremen.

Awards

• 2016: 66. The Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts
• 2005: Japan Society Imagine Award
• 2004: Les Compagnons du Beaujolais, Honory Knighthood Tag Heuer Business Award

Literature

• Murakami: Unfamiliar People - Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego, Laura W. Allen, London 2023.
• Nobuo Tsuji vs. Takashi Murakami: Battle Royale! Japanese Art History, Nobuo Tsuji, Takashi Murakami, Tokyo 2017.
• Murakami Versailles, Paul Schimmel, Paris 2011.

Collections

England

• London - Newport Street Gallery
• London - Zabludowicz Collection

Greece

• Athens - Deste Foundation

France

• Paris - Fondation Cartier
• Paris - Pinault Collection - Bourse de Commerce

Japan

• Kanazawa - 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
• Hiroshima - Hiroshima MOCA - Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art

USA

• East Lasning - Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing
• Miami - RUBELL MUSEUM Miami

Weblinks

• Website about the artist

News

• The Eternal Whims Of Economics, As Seen By Japanese Artist Murakami, von: Yann Rousseau, in: www.worldcrunch.com, vom: 26.07.2023.
• Kaikai Kiki Gallery to Exhibit "Past Precious" Takashi Murakami Works, von: Arthur Parkhouse, in: www.hypebeast.com, vom: 25.07.2023.