村上隆 もののけ 京都/Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto

PROFILE / HIGHLIGHTS

Takashi Murakami

Born in Tokyo in 1962, Takashi Murakami completed his doctorate at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1993. His doctoral dissertation was titled “The Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning.” In 2000, he proposed the concept of “Superflat” as a form of contemporary culture that makes reference to the state of Japanese society by linking traditional Japanese art with the flatness of anime and manga. In 2001, he founded Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. and serves as its representative. In 2005, his exhibition Little Boy (Japan Society, New York) was awarded the Best Thematic Museum Show by the American branch of the International Association of Art Critics. In 2015, he received the 66th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Fine Arts from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Recent solo exhibitions include Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow (The Broad, LA, 2022), MurakamiZombie (Busan Museum of Art, Busan, 2023), Understanding the New Cognitive Domain (Gagosian, Le Bourget, 2023), and Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People – Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego (Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2023).

Photo by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
©2017 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

HIGHLIGHTS

Exhibition Highlights: A showcase of new and premiere works by Takashi Murakami, who confronts the theme of “Kyoto” head-on!

Murakami, who majored in nihonga (Japanese-style painting) at university, has been greatly influenced by the painters of the Edo period and has incorporated them into his own work. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the origin of “Superflat,” evident not only in his pictorial expression but also in his production methods and the Kaikai Kiki studio system.
This exhibition features a large number of new works shown for the first time in Japan, in which Murakami uniquely interprets, references, and reconstructs exemplary works by painters who were active in Kyoto during the Edo period.

* Some artworks may be rotated during the exhibition period.

Additional 16 new works join the exhibition, notably a diptych Gion Sairei-zu Takashi Murakami Ver. and “One Arm” in “The Old Capital,” an homage to the novelist Yasunari Kawabata

The Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto is already a half-way through the 7-month event period. As Kyoto hosts its traditional Gion Festival in July, this large-scale solo exhibition modifies its curation with 16 new works.
Drawing a stark contrast to the impressive Rakuchu Rakugai Zu, Iwasa Matabei rip, the show introduces Gion Sairei-zu Takashi Murakami Version. This 10-meter-wide diptych is based on the 17th-century painting Gion Sairei-zu (or “Gion Festival,” Hosomi Museum collection), which depicts Kyoto’s famous summer festival with fascinating details. The Murakami world is alive throughout the canvas with his Flowers and Skulls embellished all over while his characters appear among the splendid and solemn floats and lively townspeople portraying Kyoto’s summer tradition.
In the section Gozan-kun and the Chronicles of the Ancient Capital, the last of the six galleries, will be displaying Murakami’s new works Golden Pavilion and “One Arm” in “The Old Capital,” the latter being inspired by Yasunari Kawabata’s novel. The exhibition has only two months left to go. Visit the exhibition and seize this unique opportunity to witness the chronicles of Kyoto projected through Murakami’s gaze.

村上隆版祇園祭礼図》 2024年⼆連画各 200×492 cm（デザインデータ）協⼒：細⾒美術館

Takashi Murakami, Gion Sairei-zu Takashi Murakami Ver., 2024. Diptych, each 200 x 492 cm (Design data), Cooperation: Hosomi Museum

Released from July 23rd
Takashi Murakami, Golden Pavilion, 2024, H82.2×W66.1 cm (Design data)

Released from July 23rd
Takashi Murakami, ”One Arm” in “The Old Capital”, 2024, H84×W70 cm (Design data)

Released from July 23rd
Takashi Murakami, Munyonyon Thunder God, 2024, H154.5×W84.9 cm (Design data)

Released from July 23rd
Takashi Murakami, Poyoyon Wind God, 2024, H154.5×W84.9 cm (Design data)

1 Room 1. Scenes in and around Mononoke Kyoto

The work of Iwasa Matabei RIP, Rakuchū-Rakugai-zu Byōbu (Edo period, 17th century) depicts various scenes of Kyoto, including shrines and temples, festivals and amusement quarters, and people enjoying Kabuki and Joruri puppet plays. Inspired by this work, the 13-meter-long Scenes in and around Mononoke Kyoto forms the entrance to Takashi Murakami’s “Kyoto.”

Takashi Murakami, Rakuchū-Rakugai-zu Byōbu: Iwasa Matabei RIP, 2023–2024, Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, Diptych each: 300 × 653.8 cm

Takashi Murakami, Kōrin’s Flowers and Abstract Imagery, 2023–2024, Acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel,150φ cm

Takashi Murakami, Kyoto Kōrin Mononoke Flower, 2023–2024, Acrylic, gold leaf and glitter on canvas mounted on wood panel, 150φ cm

2 Room 2. Four Symbols and Hexagonal Double-Helix Tower

Surrounded by mountains, rivers, and ponds and protected by the Four Deities (Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise) that symbolize the four cardinal directions, Heian-kyo—a former name given to Kyoto—was considered an ideal place. In this exhibition, Murakami’s version of Heian-kyo will appear, surrounded on all four walls by new works that take these divine beasts as their motif! The Hexagonal Double-Helix Tower rises in the center to ward off the disturbing presence of wandering mononoke, or evil spirits.

Takashi Murakami, White Tiger Kyoto, 2023–2024, Acrylic and glitter on canvas mounted on wood panel, 475 × 565 cm

村上隆《青龍京都》 2023–2024年　アクリル絵具、グリッター、カンヴァス、木製パネル 475 × 565 cm

Takashi Murakami, Blue Dragon Kyoto, 2023–2024, Acrylic and glitter on canvas mounted on wood panel, 475 × 565 cm
Takashi Murakami, Hexagonal Double-Helix Tower, 2023–2024, Water-based paint, styrofoam, wood, H495 cm, Pillar 93.8φcm, Roof width 337.5φ cm
Takashi Murakami, Dragon Heads–Gold, 2015, Gold leaf on carbon fiber and glass fiber, 135 × 88 × 84.5 cm
Takashi Murakami, Vermillion Bird Kyoto, 2023–2024, Acrylic and glitter on canvas mounted on wood panel, 475 × 565 cm

Photo: Joshua White
©Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Takashi Murakami, Invoking the Vitality of a Universe Beyond Imagination, 2018, Platinum leaf on carbon fiber,
wooden base, 200 × 82 × 94 cm, Pedestal: 120 × 120 × 15 cm

3 Room 3. DOB’s Journey

Murakami’s signature character DOB first appeared in the 1990s. Taking the motif of manga and video game characters, DOB is an ever-changing figure that has connected with various contexts. This exhibition traces the comings and goings of DOB, a character embodying Murakami’s concept of “superflat.” Are the numerous additional new characters and figures the mononoke of our time!?

Takashi Murakami, And Then 2024, 2023–2024, Acrylic on canvas mounted on wood panel, 300 × 300 cm

Takashi Murakami, DOB in the Strange Forest, 1999, Oil paint, acrylic paint, synthetic resin, glass fiber, iron, wooden base, 152.4 × 347 × 347 cm
Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto, Installation view, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, 2024

Photo: Joshua White
©2024 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

4 Room 4. Wind God and Thunder God Wonderland

Murakami’s new works inspired by his interest in Edo period paintings are on display! Exhibited for the first time in Japan is Murakami’s 18-meter-long Dragon in Clouds–Red Mutation, in which the artist took on Soga Shōhaku’s Dragon and Clouds (18th century), a work that had a lasting impact on him. In addition, the new Murakami version of Tawaraya Sōtatsu’s Wind and Thunder Gods (National Treasure, 17th century), a representative work of the Rimpa school, surprises with its humor. Also not to be missed is the prodigious Summer Flower Field under the Golden Sky, reminiscent of Kōrin’s Peacocks and Hollyhocks.

Takashi Murakami, Wind God, 2023–2024, Acrylic, gold leaf and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, 150 × 264.3 cm

Takashi Murakami, Thunder God, 2023–2024, Acrylic, gold leaf and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, 150 × 264.3 cm

Takashi Murakami, Dragon in Clouds–Red Mutation: The version I painted myself in annoyance after Professor Nobuo Tsuji told me, “Why don’t you paint something yourself for once?”, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, 367 × 1,800 cm

Takashi Murakami, Ogata Kōrin’s Flowers, 2023–2024, Acrylic, gold leaf and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, 120φ cm

Takashi Murakami, Summer Flower Field under the Golden Sky, 2023–2024, Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, 300 × 1,000 cm

5 Room 5. Tales of Mononoke Play

Let’s take a peek at Takashi Murakami’s latest trends. The 108 Flowers is a series of 40cm paintings produced in parallel with trading cards depicting the same motif. In the CLONE X series, characters from Murakami’s early period such as Hiropon (1997) appear in paintings and sculptures born from the concept of NFT (non-fungible token) art.

Takashi Murakami, Murakami.Flowers Collectible Trading Card 2023, 2023–2024, Acrylic on canvas mounted on wood panel, 40 × 40 cm (108 panels)

6 Room 6. Gozan-kun and the Chronicles of the Ancient Capital

Maiko in Kyoto, Anime-style and Gozan Okuribi (“Five Mountain Bonfires”), two works inspired by the image of Kyoto as a city familiar to people in Japan and overseas due to its rich traditional culture and festivals, are exhibited for the first time.

Takashi Murakami, Gozan Okuribi, 2023–2024, Acrylic, gold leaf and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel, 100φ cm

Takashi Murakami, Maiko in Kyoto, Anime-style, 2023–2024, Acrylic on canvas mounted on wood panel, 120 × 42.1 cm

TOPIC Large-scale works also appear in the Japanese Garden and Central Hall!！

Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto, Installation view, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, 2024

Louis Vuitton trunk installation with Takashi Murakami, Flower Parent and Child ,2020, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art Japanese Garden

NEWS Takashi Murakami, 2020 The Name Succession of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen, Kabuki Jūhachiban, 2020, Acrylic and glitter on canvas mounted on aluminum frame, 102.8 × 480 cm

The iwai-maku, a special celebration curtain that adorned the stage to announce Ichikawa Ebizo’s name succession to Ichikawa Danjuro XIII, Hakuen, garnered much attention at the name succession production held in 2022 at Kabukiza Theatre in Tokyo. The iwai-maku was realized at the request of film director Miike Takashi, who asked Murakami, while shooting a documentary film about Ichikawa Danjuro XIII, to “create a portrait of a contemporary Kabuki actor by a contemporary painter.” It was unveiled in Kyoto at the Minamiza Theatre in Kyoto from December 1 to 24 2023.
This exhibition will feature the original painting for the said iwai-maku titled 2020 The Name Succession of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen, Kabuki Jūhachiban, a lively and vivid depiction of “The Eighteen Kabuki Masterpieces.”

Takashi Murakami, 2020 The Name Succession of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen, Kabuki Jūhachiban, 2020, Acrylic and glitter on canvas mounted on aluminum frame, 102.8 × 480 cm

Takashi Murakami, 2020 The Name Succession of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen, Kabuki Jūhachiban, 2020, Acrylic on canvas mounted on aluminum frame, 102.8 x 480 x 5.8 cm