Murakami by Murakami exhibition: the explosion of colours

I remember I first saw a Takashi Murakami in Gagosian Gallery, in New York. And I couldn’t stop thinking that, in a way, the cool Japanese artist’s works looked like the Warhol drawings went manga. I remained in love with Murakami artwork since then. And I am still sad that I don’t know if I could make it to Oslo this spring. And that’s because in Oslo, at Astrup Fearnley Museet, until 14th of May, it will be exposed a solo Murakami exhibition of the world-famous Japanese artist Takashi Murakami (b. 1962, Tokyo).

“Murakami by Murakami” exhibition, at Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, until 14th of May 2017, http://afmuseet.no

The exhibition Murakami by Murakami features not only his artworks, but also aspects of his activities as a collector, gallerist, cultural entrepreneur and activist.

The exhibition explores the phenomenon that is Takashi Murakami from a number of different angles. Firstly, it presents the visual artist through a selection from two of his outstanding bodies of work: those from the late 1990s related to the character Mr DOB and the concept of ‘Superflat’, which placed him within the legacy of Pop art but with an exceptionally original artistic language, and works from recent years in which Murakami has developed an intelligent personal dialogue with Japanese historical paintings. A selection of video works is also presented, and once a week the museum will screen his feature film “Jellyfish Eyes” (2013).

(“Murakami by Murakami”, at Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, until 14th of May 2017, http://afmuseet.no)