PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Takashi Murakami entitled Takashi in Superflat Wonderland. With his “superflat” theory based on the traditional and contemporary visual culture of Japan, Takashi Murakami is evaluated as one of the most innovative artists of our time by reinterpreting the Western tradition of contemporary art with distinctly Asian sensibility. This exhibition hopes to present the wonderland of Murakami’s unique characters while reconsidering his art as means of critical evaluation in the historical and social context of contemporary society.

Born in 1962, Takashi Murakami attained his PhD. in nihonga at the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts. Strategically challenging the legacy of the western avant-garde, the artist developed his “superflat” theory by identifying the flatness and hyper-stylization of manga and anime as directly descending from the 17-18th century ukiyo-e prints of the Edo period. Emphasizing this defining trait in Japanese art history, the artist boldly attempted to merge the classical and contemporary visual cultures.

After garnering international acclaim through his “Superflat” trilogy of exhibitions, Murakami further expanded the concept of the “superflat” to reflect the social dimension of contemporary culture. Murakami first applied the term as critique on the postwar Japanese society where boundaries of reality and fantasy have become “superflat” by the traumatic defeat of war. Later, he also defined the term in relation to the comsumption-driven global economy and internet culture, in which database is endlessly consumed and decontextualized. Through his collaboration with Louis Vuitton, the artist further elaborated the concept to demonstrate the “flattened” boundaries of art and commerce, as well as high and low culture in modern capitalist culture. With his company Kaikai Kiki, the artist continued to actively pursue profitable business ventures such as film, design products and artist promotion.

As one of the most successful example of Asian artists today, Takashi Murakami and his wonderland of characters will provide an opportunity to reexamine our contemporary culture and artistic practice in a new light.

Courtesy of PLATEAU

*image (left)
Miss Ko², 1997
Oil paint, acrylic, fiberglass and iron
187.9 x 88.9 x 6.3 cm
ⓒ1997 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai KiKi,Co., Ltd.,All Rights Reserved
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin