Takashi Murakami, Tan Tan Bo Puking - a.k.a. Gero Tan, 2002. Acrylic on canvas mounted on board. Private collection. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin. Copyright Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Adam Reich.
The Vancouver Art Gallery announced this morning that it will be presenting the first-ever retrospective in Canada of influential Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
“Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg” will debut at the Vancouver Art Gallery on February 3, 2018, and continue there until May 6, 2018.
With fifty-five works, the show will trace Murakami’s oeuvre over three decades, from early paintings to a newly created five-metre-tall sculpture. There will also be two multi-panel paintings created specifically for the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition.
Artist Takashi Murakami. Photo: Maria Ponce Berre, © MCA Chicago.
“Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg” is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where it recently became that museum’s most visited exhibition ever, outselling even “David Bowie Is.”
In addition to Murakami’s art-world credentials—such as being exhibited at the Guggenheim Bilbao and other key museums and being the third contemporary artist to exhibit at France’s Palais de Versailles—he is known for more commercial projects including the cover of Kanye West’s Graduation album and a long-time collaboration with Louis Vuitton.
“The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg” promises to explore the influence of traditional Japanese painting and Buddhist folklore on Murakami’s art, his attention to craft and materials, and his engagement with issues such as media culture, globalization and nuclear threats.
Takashi Murakami, Flowers, flowers, flowers, 2010. Acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on aluminum frame. Collection of the Chang family, Taiwan © 2010 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Takashi Murakami, 727, 1996. Acrylic on canvas mounted on board. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of David Teiger, 2003, 251.2003.a-c © 1996 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Tom Powell Imaging.
Takashi Murakami, Embodiment of “A”, 2014. FRP, stainless steel, zelkova wood, and acrylic. Courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo. © 2014 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved Photo: Andrea Rossetti.
Takashi Murakami, From the perceived debris of the universe, we are still yet unable to reach the stage of nirvana., 2008. Acrylic and platinum leaf on canvas mounted on wood panel / signage in gold leaf. Collection of Cari and Michael J. Sacks © 2008 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo.
Takashi Murakami, DOB’s March, 1995. Acrylic on canvas mounted on board. Collection of Javier and Monica Mora, Miami. © 1995 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Norihiro Ueno.
