The Instituto Tomie Ohtak in Brazil presents for the first time a solo exhibition of the legendary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami (1962, Tokyo, Japan). Curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran – who also curated the Yoko Ono show held at the Instituto in 2017 – MURAKAMI BY MURAKAMI is based on the show of the same name originally held at Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo.
A big fan of anime, Murakami entered Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (now Tokyo University of the Arts) (1982–1993) and decided to study Nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting style. Since then, his work has demonstrated exceptional technical ability. After graduating, the artist has developed a production that transits between Japan and the West. He is also the founder of Superflat – a term that applies to all of his output while describing postwar Japanese culture and society – an art movement that blends traditional Japanese art with contemporary pop culture.
However, this exhibition highlights the eminently Japanese presence in its production. “This blend [of East and West] is clearly present in Murakami's art, but this exhibition emphasizes his deeply Japanese identity, which has been overshadowed by his association with great artists of the Western art world, such as [Andy ] Warhol, [Jeff] Koons and [Damien] Hirst, not only for the emphasis on the commercial aspect, but also for the artistic language,” explains the curator, Kvaran.
Murakami has become a phenomenon on the international scene by the unique way he understands the universe of art, which is reflected not only in his creation interested in society and history, but also in his art collection – to the extent that he is a fine art collector and dealer, introducing other artists to his Tokyo gallery. The works on display reveal the result of a long process of creation, ranging from conceptual development to formal research and painstaking execution of his works, with countless layers of paint. In his studio he relies on the skills and dedication of many other artists, among a team of around 100, working in a warehouse on the outskirts of Tokyo – a place regarded by the art circuit as one of the most innovative studios in the world.
The Murakami phenomenon will be explored in the exhibition through the works of four of his most outstanding artwork groups: the one featuring the figure of Mr. DOB, his recent paintings focusing on Zen Buddhism, his appropriation and interpretation of the works of Francis Bacon and his notion of self-portrait, as well as a selection of videos. “Murakami has certainly enjoyed more recognition outside Japan than within it, and has cultivated an openly combative relationship with the Japanese art world, but his involvement with Nihonga, manga and anime paintings, otaku culture, and Zen Buddhism they anchor his work firmly in Japanese traditions,” Kvaran points out.
In the 90s Murakami invented the character of Mr. DOB (derived from the Japanese slang dobojite, which means “why?”), With which he criticizes a consumerist, lifeless and empty society. Initially, DOB was a figure resembling the cat-like robot from the manga Doraemon or Mickey Mouse, as seen in But, Ru, RuRuRu… (1994). After being revisited by the artist, however, the character has evolved into many different profiles: DOB Genesis: Reboot (1993–2017) and Tan Tan Bo (2001), inspired by the monstrous Japanese folklore character (yōkai) who spits crippling saliva upon its victims.
Murakami's works are intimately connected to Japanese subculture. Works such as Superflat DOB: DNA (2015) and 772772 (2015) are related to Japanese character culture, and figurine-like sculptural works such as Miss Ko2 (1996) and My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) give shape to otaku fantasies of sexuality and eroticism, focused on anime, manga and video games. “From the first DOB, to a multitude of computer drawings and the finished works on the canvas, we see the metamorphosis and expansion of a figure influenced both by Murakami's interest in biology, botany and the world of insects, and from his fascination with manga,” explains the curator.
Also according to Kvaran, there is a clear correlation between the organic, fused shapes and the stories they tell, usually related to environmental danger or even nuclear threats or disasters. “In his violent vision that proclaims a raw hostility towards the whole world, there is an alarming tension, as if the saturation of the accumulated internal energy were caused by a distortion of the dimensions of the surface”, says the curator. Over the years, an entire DOB planet has arisen, generally associated with other hybrid populations created by the artist, executed on large format canvases and telling very complex stories, with different layers of narratives and pictorial structures.
In 2007, Murakami made portraits of Daruma, the Indian priest who founded Chinese Zen Buddhism and paintings partly inspired by masters such as Hakuin Ekaku (very influential in Zen Buddhism, 1686-1769) and Soga Shōhaku (a painter of the Edo period, 1730–1781), honored with the canvas Transcendent Attacking a Whirlwind (2017), the largest in the exhibition (3 x 10m), the whose painting is illuminated by gold leaf and silver leaf. They are works of art that demonstrate a reorientation of the artist with respect to traditional painting also present in Amitābha Buddha descends, Looking over his shoulder (2016), Shennong: Inspiration (2016) and Ensō: Zazen (2015).
The artist has made increasing use of traditional motifs, symbols and imagery including demons, monsters and mythological animals such as dragons and phoenixes as well as goats and tigers, as seen in Lion Occupying the Throne in My Heart (2018). These elements also appear recurringly in the Arhat series, a Sanskrit term for a being of high spiritual stature. Works such as Isle of the Dead (2014) and Arhats: The Four Heavenly Kings (2016) are inspired by Kanō Kazunobu's Five Hundred Rakan (or Arhats), a series of 100 Buddhist scroll paintings. Murakami became interested in these traditional motifs in relation to the Tohoku tsunami followed by the earthquake and nuclear leaks in March 2011.
Appropriating the work of Francis Bacon, Murakami has since 2002 conceived a series of paintings which includes the triptych Homage to Francis Bacon (2018). These are dense compositions with recurring features of the artist's iconography – eyes, mushrooms and characters – accentuated by multiple layers of colors applied on a platinum leaf background. The metamorphosis of the faces repeats the transformations of Mr. DOB, an extravagant characteristic that is sometimes affectionate, sometimes monstrous, with which Murakami thematizes the many variations of his work. From her self-portrait series, the exhibition features life-size silicone sculpture with robotic (animatronic) devices (untitled, 2016) and two others using gold leaf, in which the artist appears alongside the dog Pom: Pom & Me (2009 –2010) and Nude Self Portrait with POM (2013).
Figures from Murakami's paintings have been made into video and animation, and even a feature film. For this exhibition, Murakami curated and edited, in one session, a selection of nine of these video films.
