Preview: “Live On: Mr’s Japanese Neo-Pop” at Seattle Museum of Art’s Asian Art Museum

Japanese artist known as Mr., a member of Takashi Murakami's Kaikai Kiki collective, earned worldwide attention by directing the music video for Pharrell Williams' "It Girl". His vibrant, Pop Art-inspired paintings of Anime characters and graffiti elements have been likened to "the display in one's dirty bedroom." On November 22nd, Seattle Museum of Art's Asian Art Museum will present his first major museum retrospective in the United States. As a full retrospective of Mr.'s career, the exhibit will include his early paintings and drawings, and film work, to a new series of paintings created for the show.

Japanese artist known as Mr., a member of Takashi Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki collective, earned worldwide attention by directing the music video for Pharrell Williams’ “It Girl”. His vibrant, Pop Art-inspired paintings of Anime characters and graffiti elements have been likened to “the display in one’s dirty bedroom.” On November 22nd, Seattle Museum of Art’s Asian Art Museum will present his first major museum retrospective in the United States. As a full retrospective of Mr.’s career, the exhibit will include his early paintings and drawings, and film work, to a new series of paintings created for the show. Also on display will be his “Give Me Your Wings” a complex and chaotic installation sculpture previously exhibited in 2012 at Lehmann Maupin Gallery. Although overwhelmingly colorful and happy-looking imagery, Mr.’s latest work represents psychologically unsettling events. For example, his installation takes viewers to a disaster scenario that recalls the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami debris. This ties into Mr.’s ongoing exploration of Japanese “cute” culture, where technology, manga, Anime, and video games are an escape from nightmarish reality.

“Live On: Mr’s Japanese Neo-Pop” exhibits November 21th, 2014 through April 5th, 2015 at Seattle Museum of Art’s Asian Art Museum.

Topics

Anime, Kaikai Kiki, Mr., pop art, Takashi Murakami

Abstract Art, Japanese art, Minimalism, pop art, Yayoi Kusama

June 8, 2015

Recently named the most popular artist of 2014, Yayoi Kusama (HF Vol. 25) has currently taken over two expansive spaces at David Zwirner Gallery in New York. Her exhibition, "Give Me Love," which closes this week, includes a reenactment of her popular installation, "The Obliteration Room" (2002), new pumpkin sculptures, and paintings. They share the hallucinatory, obsessive, and energetic qualities we've seen throughout her career, something this exhibition aims to embody. More photos after the jump.

Yasuto Sasada’s Drawings of Machine-Inspired Creatures

drawing, Japanese art, Pen and Ink, pop art, Yasuto Sasada

January 2, 2015

Japanese artist Yasuto Sasada, just 27 years old, has already made a name for himself in the modern art and fashion world, through his collaborations with Yohji Yamamoto. Sasada has his own visual language that combines cultural traditions with the future. His detailed pen drawings of creatures mix motifs from modern technology and religion. Their black and white tonality, achieved with a thin 0.3mm pen, is harshly contrasted against bright pink, blue, and green backgrounds. He's created a new form of painting that juxtaposes old and contemporary ideas, taking us into an entirely new dimension.

On View: Takashi Murakami’s “Arhat Cycle Part II” at Palazzo Reale

Arhat, Blum & Poe, Kaikai Kiki, Milan, Palazzo Reale, Takashi Murakami

August 6, 2014

Lauded as the founder of Superflat, Takashi Murakami has built a veritable empire on his instantly-recognizable aesthetic. Brightly-colored, loud and repetitive, his paintings and sculptures have made waves in the art world and their creator has gained notoriety for his sky-high auction prices and flamboyant, showman-like public persona. Murakami recently opened "Arhat Cycle Part II" at the historical Palazzo Reale in Milan, a follow-up to 2013's "Arhat" at Blum & Poe in LA (see our coverage here).

Yoshitomo Nara’s “New Works” Characterizes Alienation, Anger and Curiosity

Japanese art, pop art, Yoshimoto Nara

May 10, 2016

Stephen Friedman gallery in London is currently showing their fourth solo exhibition with acclaimed Japanese artist, Yoshitomo Nara, covered here. Following his recent solo exhibitions at Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, Asia Society Museum, New York, Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland, "New Works" is the simple title of the current exhibition by one of the most important living contemporary Japanese artists.

Preview: “Live On: Mr’s Japanese Neo-Pop” at Seattle Museum of Art’s Asian Art Museum

Yayoi Kusama Exhibits Her Obliteration Room and More in “Give Me Love”

Yasuto Sasada’s Drawings of Machine-Inspired Creatures

On View: Takashi Murakami’s “Arhat Cycle Part II” at Palazzo Reale

Yoshitomo Nara’s “New Works” Characterizes Alienation, Anger and Curiosity

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