Born on February 1st, 1962, Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine art as a sculptor and painter, but he also works in commercials with the fashion industry, merchandise, and animation. Murakami is also well known for his blurring of lines between high and low art. Takashi Murakami created the art movement “superflat” describing both the aesthetic characters of the Japanese artistic tradition and nature of postwar Japanese culture/society, which was Murakami’s main art style. Superflat is a postmodern art movement that was heavily influenced by manga and anime. 

Collaborations:

Takashi Murakami is probably the most known artist of the 21st-century, is known for his collaborations with many famous celebrities and or brands. In 2002 Murakami was invited by fashion designer Marc Jacobs, which began his long-lasting collaboration with the luxury fashion brand, Louis Vuitton. Murakami started by contributing artwork that was used for a series of handbags that had a huge commercial success and re-envisioned the company’s monogram. His work with Louis Vuitton highly elevated his celebrity status in his home country of Japan and is widely known for the blurring of lines between high art and commercialism. Murakami has also worked with artists like Pharrel Williams, Kanye West, Billie Elish, etc, and has also worked with brands like supreme, comme des garcons, kaws, and more.