Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats @ Mori Art Museum

Murakami Takashi is widely known for his character-based artworks associated with 'otaku culture,' but also for a broad range of activities beyond such works. He formulated the 'Superflat' art theory. Murakami is considered one of the most active and significant Japanese artists in the global art scene today. The planned exhibition at the Mori Art Museum is eagerly anticipated; while many large-scale exhibitions of Murakami's works have been held worldwide, including "©Murakami," which toured internationally starting with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2007), "Murakami Versailles," Palace of Versailles, France (2010) and "Murakami - Ego" in Qatar (2012), such showings in Japan have been extremely limited.

This exhibition will focus on Murakami's recent works, mainly his epic The 500 Arhats (2012), a 3-meter high, 100-meter-long painting of the 500 enlightened followers (arhats) of Buddha, created in response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Some large sculptural pieces and abstract paintings will also be included. The Japan premiere of Murakami's The 500 Arhats highlights the power of prayer that transcends religious differences in a dynamic vision of the intersection of finite life and the infinite nature and universe. It allows us to understand Murakami's new artistic interests and directions. This exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, through the showing of Murakami's magnum opus and other recent works, will offer an opportunity to examine the role of art and religion in facing social turmoil and human mortality. It will also allow us to approach Murakami's profound exploration of the power of art to illuminate our understanding of the human condition and the realities of the world we live in.

Murakami completed his doctoral work at Tokyo University of the Arts, becoming the first person at the university to earn a Ph.D in Nihonga ( a Japanese style painting ). He is the founder and president of Kaikai Kiki, an art production and management company. Linking 'otaku culture,' character iconography, and Japanese art history, he has developed the concept of 'Superflat.' "Little Boy"( New York, 2005 ), the final exhibition of his Super flat Trilogy, a series if three exhibitions he curated, was given the 2005 awards for the Best Thematic Museum Show by the American branch of the International Association of Art Critics.

The exhibition also features Murakami's large-scale sculpture such as The Birth Cry of a Universe, still in production after nearly 10 years,

and Flame of Desire - Gold, (2013 ).