Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami (born in Tokyo, Japan, 1962) is the originator of the “Superflat” theory and the artist most associated with its tenets. He has maintained a multifaceted career as an artist, curator, collector, film and animation director, and the founder of Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., an art production and management company that includes production studios and galleries. He is also known for cross-border collaborations with brands such as Louis Vuitton and VANS, as well as with notable artists including Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Virgil Abloh. Recent exhibitions include © MURAKAMI, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2007; traveled to Brooklyn Museum, New York; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; and Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, through 2009); Takashi Murakami Versailles, Château de Versailles, France (2010); Murakami-Ego, Qatar Museum Authority, Doha (2012); Murakami: The 500 Arhats, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2015); Takashi Murakami. Under the Radiation Falls, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2017); and The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2017; traveled to Vancouver Art Gallery in 2018 and opening at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, in 2018).