Takashi Murakami
Born in 1962 in Tokyo, Takashi Murakami is an internationally prolific contemporary artist. Murakami's art encompasses a wide range of mediums in both fine art and commercial art. His work has been best noted for his use of vibrant colors and the incorporation of motifs from Japanese traditional and popular culture. Among his recurring motifs are smiling flowers, skulls, Buddhist iconography and the sexual complexes of Otaku Culture.
Murakami received his BFA, MFA, and PhD in Nohonga (Japanese painting) from the Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1994, Murakami received a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Councial and participated in the PS1 International Studio Program in New York, where he started to explore a distinctive Japanese artistic style that differentiates itself from Western contemporary art. He founded the Hiropon factory in Tokyo in 1996, which later evolved into Kaikai Kiki, an art production and management corporation. In 2000, Murakami published his "Superflat" theory in the catalogue for a group exhibition he curated for the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Takashi Murakami is featured in Sanbusaku 2 三部作
