About Takashi Murakami

 

Takashi Murakami is, born in Tokyo. He is an internationally productive contemporary Japanese artist. He is best known for blurring the line between high and low arts. He works in fine arts media, such as painting and sculpture—as well as fashion, merchandise, and animation.

From his childhood, he was an enthusiastic follower of animation and manga (Japanese comics), and aspired to one day work in the animation industry.He attended T.U.A Tokyo University of the Arts, to gain drafting skills necessary to become an animator, but eventually majored in Nihonga, the ‘traditional’ style of Japanese painting that incorporates traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and subjects.

He coined the term superflat, which describes the origins of contemporary Japanese visual pop culture to historical Japanese art. Superflat is also used as a moniker to describe Murakami’s own artistic style and that of other Japanese artists he has influenced.

The paintings, sculptures of Takashi Murakami are colourful and attractive, and accessible in their reference to lovable cartoon characters.  Murakami uses his deep understanding of Western art to integrate his work into its structure; working from the inside to portray “Japanese-ness” as a tool to bring about revolution in the world of art.