Takashi Murakami: Superflat

This is the revised edition of the exhibition catalogue published on the occasion of Takashi Murakami: Superflat, an exhibition that premiered in Tokyo and Aichi, Japan, in 2000, before traveling in an expanded form to Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle in 2001. Superflat was the first of three related exhibitions curated by Takashi Murakami exploring his theory of art. Murakami coined the titular term to discuss a lineage of Japanese visual culture from sixteenth-century painting and nineteenth-century woodblock prints to contemporary comics, animation, painting, sculpture, photography, fashion, and other art forms. These works are united by their emphasis on planarity and a distribution of visual elements across their compositions, rather than perspectival depth.

The bilingual (English/Japanese) catalogue features extensive text by Murakami about Superflat and its historical context. The book’s distinctive structure juxtaposes works across time and mediums, with entries by Murakami introducing the artists of the exhibition, along with an essay by philosopher Hiroki Azuma that examines the Superflat concept in relation to Murakami’s own work. Featured artists include Murakami, Chiho Aoshima, Bome, Enlightenment (Hiro Sugiyama), groovisions, Yoshinori Kanada, Henmaru Machino, Koji Morimoto, Mr., Katsushige Nakahashi, Yoshitomo Nara, Shigeyoshi Ohi, Masafumi Sanai, SLEEP, Chikashi Suzuki, Aya Takano, Kentaro Takekuma, Hitoshi Tomizawa, and 2047112.