Photo by RK ( IG: @rkrkrk ) ©︎2019 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

This summer, STPI presents a major showcase of acclaimed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami in Singapore. “From Superflat to Bubblewrap” is a milestone exhibition that explores the dynamic practice of Murakami, one of the most notable artists emerging from post-war Japan and a palpable force in the world of contemporary art today. It examines, through a remarkable range of works, the rich symbolic operations embedded in the artist’s compelling artistic expression – from the ‘Superflat’ theory and iconography which launched his global career, to a more recent examination of the recessive realism of Japan’s economic bubble crisis, humorously coined ‘Bubblewrap’. In particular, this new exhibitionary endeavour debuts new works centred around the relationship between these ideas. From printmaking traditions to textures of graffiti and neon signages, from hypnotically seamless wallpapers to the digital moving image, the language of Superflat and Bubblewrap surfaces as a mode of decentring and annulling conventions of perspective, hierarchy and dichotomy in art and subculture. In a global age marked by rapidly transforming visual cultures and the excess of consumption, Murakami continues to urgently challenge our relationship with images, their materiality, and their function in creative movements that respond to fluctuations in economy, in society, and in collective hope.

Me Among The Supernatural, 2013, Acrylic on canvas mounted on aluminum frame, 1000 x 1000 mm,
©︎2013 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

“I suspect the resulting artistic expression is quite chaotic and confusing, but this has become an ambitious exhibition that I believe people will come to understand as a major career turning point after my passing.” – Takashi Murakami

Throughout its run from 13 July to 14 September, this Annual Special Exhibition at STPI will be supported by a diverse array of public programmes including an artist talk, panel discussions, film screenings, printmaking workshops and guided tours of both the exhibition and STPI’s Creative Workshop in multiple languages.

This Merciless World, 2014, Acrylic on canvas mounted on aluminum frame,
1990 x 1530 x 50.8 mm, ©︎2014 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Dates: 13 July – 14 September 2019
Venue: STPI, 41 Robertson Quay, Singapore 238236
Hours: Sun: 10am – 5pm
Mon – Fri: 10am – 7pm
Sat: 9am – 6pm