Takashi Murakami. Under the Radiation Falls

About

Presenting his work in the broader context of Japanese culture for the first time, the exhibition pays homage to Murakami’s long-term project to creatively unite and question Eastern and Western traditions.

Consisting of five sections that each explore a particular phenomenon in Japanese culture which has been formally or semantically examined by Murakami, the show reveals the artist’s inquiries into the nuanced facets of Japanese culture and public consciousness, blurring the line between high and low culture while merging various media into one continuous flow of images.

The first section, Geijutsu (芸術, Learning and Technique), will focus on the genealogy of Murakami’s paintings and his ideas regarding the pictorial space and the artist’s craft. Having trained as a classical Nihonga painter, Murakami’s work is partly rooted in traditional Japanese painting, which is characterized by a certain flatness of image and what art historian Nobuo Tsuji (Lineage of Eccentrics: Matabei to Kuniyoshi, 2012) calls “eccentricity:” an expressionist aspect of the Japanese painterly tradition. This section also introduces a theme that will recur throughout the exhibition: the importance of daily routine and traditional labor, be it the making of engravings and paintings, ceramics, or sushi.

The second section, The Little Boy and the Fat Man (リトルボーイとファットマン), is a tribute to Murakami’s project Little Boy (2005), which explored the symbolism of August 1945 and the ways in which the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings transformed Japanese visual culture after the war. A disaster as a starting point for a new sensibility: from apocalyptic visions to a conscious escape from reality. This part of the exhibition will focus on visual rhymes between the works of Murakami, anime and manga, and historical documentation. The exhibition at Garage will be the first in Europe to include one of Murakami’s earliest installations, Sea Breeze(1992), an extraordinary work that examines the events of August 1945 and is part of the collection of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Japan).

The third section, Kawaii (カワイイ), will explore the intersections between Murakami’s work and the aesthetics of kawaii (cuteness), which is an integral part of contemporary Japanese culture. This part of the exhibition will include manga and anime featuring world-famous characters (Pokémon, Hello Kitty); various environments (such as a mirror zone with toys); a screening room showing Murakami’s 2013 feature film Jellyfish Eyes; and a space exhibiting the preparatory models for the film’s animated characters.

The fourth section, Sutajito (スタジオ), will examine the structure of Murakami’s studio. The exhibition will include a recreation of part of his “factory,” in which the artist’s assistants will work during the installation of the exhibition. This section will present the history of Murakami’s studio and of the production of a number of works through the use of archive materials. It will also include a board with the names, photographs, and work schedule of the installation team. The “wet studio” will provide a space for young Russian artists to learn Murakami’s painting techniques.

The “phantom chapter,” Asobi & Kazari (遊び & 飾り), will be spread across the Museum’s non-exhibition spaces, demonstrating the playful aspect of Murakami’s work and his interest in decoration and patterns which are rooted in the Japanese artistic tradition. These parasite ornaments invading the Museum space will create a transition from the exhibition to the world of Kaikai Kiki (the art production and art management corporation founded by Murakami in 1996), which will occupy the Café and Bookshop and continue onto the facade of the building.

As well as paintings, drawings, and films by Murakami from public and private collections, the exhibition will feature eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Japanese engravings and paintings from the collections of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. Developed in close collaboration with the artist, the project—which includes a number of new works—transforms the Museum into a Murakami universe.

A Russian-language catalogue will be published on the occasion of the exhibition, the first comprehensive publication on the artist in Russian.

Takashi Murakami's exhibition Under the Radiation Falls will take place as part of the Year of Japan in Russia.
The exhibition is organized by Katya Inozemtseva, Senior Curator of Garage.

Takashi Murakami (b. 1962, Tokyo, Japan) lives and works in Tokyo and New York. He studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1986, his master’s degree in 1988, and his PhD. in 1993. He founded the Hiropon factory in Tokyo in 1996, which later evolved into Kaikai Kiki, an art production and art management corporation. In addition to the production and marketing of Murakami's art and related work, Kaikai Kiki functions as a supportive environment for the fostering of emerging artists.

Recent major museum exhibitions include: Murakami: The 500 Arhats, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2015); Arhat Cycle, Palazzo Reale, Milan (2014); Murakami: Ego, Qatar Museums Authority, Doha (2012); Takashi Murakami Versailles, Palace of Versailles, Versailles (2010); © 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); Kaikai Kiki: Takashi Murakami, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris (2002; traveled to Serpentine Gallery, London); Takashi Murakami: Made in Japan, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2001); and Summon Monsters? Open the Door? Heal? Or Die?, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2001).