Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami has put his indelible stamp on art history, bringing to the international stage a representation of contemporary Japanese art unequaled in today's art world. Murakami's resistance to conformity has made him a presence in both the commercial world and that of high art, blending Western traditions of Pop art and marketing with graphic design of his homeland. Indeed, much of Murakami's success is owed to his singular genius as a global art marketeer, establishing his success in the West before redirecting his attention back to Japan. As means of appealing to widespread audiences, the signature elements in Murakami’s work focus on the commercial aspects of Japanese art, namely that of of anime and manga. But while both of these art forms had previously existed in a consumer culture, Murakami elevates his subects. His subjects are both cartoonish kitsch and the grotesque, appearing in their two-dimsensional origins but with Murakami's emphasis of bright color and manipulation of the subject's character.
