Through 11 paintings, 9 of which have been created for the show, Takashi Murakami juxtaposes his work directly with Klein’s, producing monochromes in the
same size as the originals. The gallery will also exhibit 3 small Klein monochromes especially for this occasion («Untitled Blue Monochrome (IKB 67)», «Untitled
Monogold (MG 8)», «Untitled Pink Monochrome (MP19)» and 3 sponge reliefs). Both artists have made the pursuit of perfection and the absolute the focal point
of their work.
This is not the first time that Murakami has evoked Klein’s legacy in his work. in 1991, Murakami painted monochromes which reflected the influence of Klein’s
research («Azure»). In 1995, he made a silver and gold-leafed triptych which echoed the Klein monochromes while also evoking the wonderful backgrounds of
traditional Japanese art. In 2006, he applied the imprint of his body on canvas, in the manner of anthropométries, before covering it with mesmerizing and energizing
colored squares («Acupuncture Paintings»).
With these Monochromes, Takashi Murakami is also taking up the time-old theme of Vanities. The works present accumulations of skulls and flowers, dizzying
towards infinity where the pattern fades away in its own abstract repetition.
A Doctor in Nihonga painting from the University of Arts in Tokyo, Takashi Murakami developed a unique protean style of the most modern techniques associated
with the precision and virtuosity of traditional Japanese art and that of the Ukiyo-e engraving (pictures of the floating world) in particular. Inspired by Manga and
Kawai (cuteness) culture, his irresistible world is peopled by monstrous and charming characters, facetious descendents of past myths. His theory of the Superflat
aesthetic, which he introduced in 2000, attempts to blur the frontiers between popular art and grand art. The absence of perspective, the two-dimensionality of
ancient art, filters in to every support – painting, sculpture, prints/silk-screens, wallpaper, animation films and accessories.
Since his first monographic exhibition outside Japan in 1995 at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Murakami has become recognized as one of the most prominent
contemporary artists of his time, and his work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at museums and art institutions throughout the world, including The
Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning in New York at the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum, Bard College in 1999, P.S.1 in Long Island City, NY (2000),
Grand Central Station in 2001, the Fondation Cartier and the Serpentine Gallery in 2002, the Rockefeller Center in 2003, and recently in the traveling retrospective
©MURAKAMI, shown first at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2007, then followed by shows at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Museum
für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. In 2010, France’s renowned Château de Versailles organized an important solo
exhibition of his works on the palace grounds.
On display for the exhibition are also be 4 prints produced by Murakami following the solo show he had at Versailles last year. Each one a different installation
view of emblematic sculptures of this show.