Takashi Murakami

The Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, studied traditional Japanese art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, from where he received his BFA, MFA and PhD.

He is concerned with what has happened to Japanese culture since the Second World War, the results of imported poular culture, and particularly in the subculture of manga comics, animation, rock music and video games. He has described his work as “post pop art” and a “descendant of pop art”.

Murakami established a studio in Asaka City with a team of assistants, showing the influence of the working practices of Andy Warhol. Murakami developed an approach to visual art that he calls “superflat” where everything within the image is portrayed in two dimensions only and rejects conventional Western perspective.. His work combines popular contemporary Japanese cartoons and historic Japanese approaches to composition pioneered by the panel and screen painters of the sixteenth century. His work ranges from cartoon style paintings and prints, to sculptures, to giant inflatable balloons, to T shirts, and other products, many with his signature character, Mr. DOB.

Murakami is internationally recognised for his collaboration with designer Marc Jacobs to create handbags and other products for the Louis Vuitton fashion house in 2003. He also works as a curator and entrepreneur and is engaged in film-making.

Takashi Murakami's work has been exhibited in prestigious museums and galleries all over the world, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art (2001); the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2001); Rockefeller Center, New York (2003); and there is a solo retrospective exhibition planned for 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.