Few artists today are as ubiquitous as Tokyo’s Takashi Murakami. The 55-year-old painter and sculptor has worked with Kanye West (on the rapper’s Graduation cover) and Louis Vuitton, and his prints are now more popular in dorm rooms than Van Gogh’s. A new retrospective, The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg, opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on June 6, showcases the breadth of the artist’s work. Here, chief curator Michael Darling highlights four pieces not to miss.
Kōrin: The Golden River (2015)
After Murakami ended a 13-year partnership with Louis Vuitton in 2015, he ditched pop art in favor of acrylic paintings that explore a simpler style and sense of spirituality. “This is a new chapter for Murakami, marked by a seriousness not seen before,” says Darling.Photo: Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo
Flower Ball 2 (2002)
A reimagining of the traditional Japanese craft of flower arranging, this bold, graphic painting has become one of his most popular, with the design featured on everything from soccerballs to dinner plates. “It completely fills your eyeball when you look at this,” says Darling.Photo: Norihiro Ueno, Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, © 2002 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
Tan Tan Bo Puking (2002)
A recurring nightmarish Mickey Mouse–cum–Godzilla character, Mr. Dob serves as Murakami’s homage to Japanese anime comics. Darling calls it a “spectacle of technical precision and cinematic bombast.”Photo: Adam Reich, Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin, © 2002 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.