Takashi Murakami

In conjunction with the exhibition Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami at Gagosian, London, Takashi Murakami and Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator and artistic director of Serpentine, London, sit down to discuss the artist’s exploration and contemporizing of ancient Japanese artworks and movements. The two delve into Murakami’s investigation of Iwasa Matabei’s seventeenth-century masterwork Rakuchū-Rakugai-zu (Scenes in and around Kyoto) and the Kyoto-based style of Rinpa painting, among other examples.

Bridging the digital and the physical realms, the three-part presentation of paintings and sculptures that make up Takashi Murakami: An Arrow through History at Gagosian, New York, builds on the ongoing collaboration between the artist and RTFKT Studios. Here, Murakami and the RTFKT team explain the collaborative process, the necessity of cognitive revolution, the metaverse, and the future of art to the Quarterly’s Wyatt Allgeier.

Takashi Murakami writes about his commitment to the work of Japanese ceramic artists associated with the seikatsu kōgei, or lifestyle crafts, movement.

In a conversation recorded at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Takashi Murakami describes the process behind three major large-scale paintings, including Qinghua (2019), inspired by the motifs painted on a Chinese Yuan Dynasty porcelain vase.

Following their artistic collaboration in London, Takashi Murakami and Virgil Abloh, the recently appointed Louis Vuitton menswear designer, spoke with Derek Blasberg about how they met, their admiration for each other, and the power of collaboration to educate and impassion new audiences.

The Spring 2018 Gagosian Quarterly with a cover by Ed Ruscha is now available for order.