Takashi MURAKAMI (1962) X SUPREME - Lot 34

Takashi MURAKAMI (1962) X SUPREME Ponchi-kun (red). Screen-printed skateboard. 79 X 20 cm. ©2007 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Note: Born in Tokyo in 1962, Takashi Murakami is one of the most influential Japanese artists of recent decades. With a doctorate from Tokyo's National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1983, and training in nihon-ga (a pictorial style centered on traditional Japanese techniques and themes), Murakami belongs to the Japanese neo-pop generation (also known as Superflat) that emerged after the country's economic bubble burst in the late 1980s. While incorporating elements of his country's contemporary popular culture into his work in the form of anime (animation) and manga (comics), he remains inspired by traditional Japanese art. He explores both Buddhist iconography and 12th-century scrolls, as well as Zen painting and compositional techniques from the Edo period to the 18th century. The latter is characterized by the use of fantastical, unconventional imagery and an expressionism that, at the time, represented a rejection of realism and tradition. The result was paintings combining kitsch motifs and cartoon characters, for which he is renowned. Takashi Murakami's artistic practice renews the links between art considered elitist and popular culture, reminding us that art fully belongs to the economy. The artist is famous for having forged a new entrepreneurial model, based on the detour of market strategies. This pattern may also correspond to the shift from a consumer-based society to a service-oriented economy, which differentiates Murakami from Andy Warhol and his emulators, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Aside from his purely artistic work, Murakami is a jack-of-all-trades who reveals himself in a host of roles: curator, lecturer, event coordinator, radio presenter, press commentator and agent for young artists. His international firm, Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd. encompasses much of his work, including merchandising, animated film production and corporate design - such as his celebrated collaboration with Louis Vuitton - and reflects Murakami's desire to creatively extend the reach of art. Recently, the artist has continued to break new ground by venturing into the world of NFT.