Exhibition site
WONDERLANDS
A place of wonder
Date: 2022.02.27 - 2022.06.26
Venue: Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art
Industrial International Wealth Center, No. 58 Luzhou Road, Donggang District, Rizhao City, Shandong Province
Artists:Chiho Aoshima, KYNE, MADSAKI,
Hideyasu Moto, Mr., Takashi Murakami,
Shoko Nakazawa, ob, Studio Otani,
TENGAone, Koya Takano, Yuuki Ueda
Chiho Aoshima, KYNE, MADSAKI,
Hideyasu Moto, Mr., Takashi Murakami,
Shoko Nakazawa, whether,
Otani Workshop, TENGAone,
Aya Takano, Yuji Ueda
Exhibition Introduction:
Located in Rizhao, a waterfront rizhao far from the center of the city, The Museum of Contemporary Art introduces a series of works set against the backdrop of the concept of "Superflat" proposed by contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and its otaku cultural soil. Taking the popular culture closely related to the otaku ecology such as animation, manga and video games as the connection point, providing a chance for local audiences in Rizhao to get close to contemporary art is the original intention of Xiao Contemporary Art Museum to plan this exhibition.
Takashi Murakami, Flower Parent-Child, 2021, FIBERGLAss, polyurethane paint, stainless steel, wooden base, 248.5 x 152.3 x 115.3 cm
Takashi Murakami, Flower Parent and Child, 2021, Fiber reinforced plastic, urethane paint, stainless steel, wood base
2021 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin
Centered on the "ultra-flat" style artworks of Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, the exhibition observes the creations of Takashi Murakami and eleven artists associated with it. More than 20 years after Murakami Takashi's "Ultra Flat Declaration" and the "Ultra Flat" exhibition went global, "Strange Realm" picked up the question of flattening the distinction between art and popular culture proposed in the "Declaration", and then asked what kind of echo the "ultra-flat" theory has produced in today's Generation Z and its dazzling subculture gradually entering the mainstream social vision.
Takashi Murakami, Panda Giant, acrylic acrylic, polyurethane, fiberglass, steel, 200 x 180 x 140 cm
Takashi Murakami, Panda Geant, 2009, acrylic boa, urethane, FRP, steel
2009 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Since the 1990s, Takashi Murakami has quickly become one of the most influential artists in the field of contemporary art. Super flat (later written superflat) is an art theory proposed by Takashi Murakami in his Ultra Flat Manifesto in 2000. In the manifesto, Murakami uses art historian Tsuji's research on "eccentricity" in Japanese culture as a clue to connect Japanese paintings from the Edo period to the manga elements of post-World War II mass culture. In doing so, Murakami tried to zoom out over time and get a glimpse of the many crafts and creative artifacts produced on Japanese soil. Ultimately, the purpose of "ultra-flat" is to enable contemporary Japanese creators to jump out of the constraints of the "art" tradition from the West, and to explore the high and low hierarchical concepts within the "flattening" art system to explore the vitality of local art.
Mr., Garyn - Wild Marks (artwork details), 2018
Mr., Karin - A Sign of Feral (detail), 2018
Takashi Murakami was strongly influenced by Pop Art in the United States, especially the famous pop artist Andy Warhol. Inspired by Warhol's studio "The Factory", in 1996 Takashi Murakami established his own studio in Tokyo and named it "Hiropon Factory". In 2001, as the "ultra-flat" theory came out of Japan, Takashi Murakami transformed TheHiropon Factory into a company called KaiKai Kiki Co. Ltd's business creative company. In addition to producing takashi Murakami's own work, KaiKai Kiki also supports many young artists who focus on similar issues.
Many of the artists on display at Wonderland have collaborated with Kaikai Kiki's ecosystem, and the themes and styles of their works are born in the same cultural soil as the ultra-flattening movement. Chiho and Aya Takano of Aoshima created fantastic imaginary worlds with their unique visual languages; kyne, Mr., and ob's artistic styles are derived from popular culture images from the late 20th century to the present, such as anime, manga, games, and social media culture; MADSAKI and TENGAone are inspired by graffiti culture; Studio Otani and Yūriko Ueda both invoke traditional pottery craftsmanship in their respective sculptural practices; Yasuyasu Honn and Shoko Nakazawa are outside of artistic creation. He is also a well-known illustrator and niche pop culture creator.
TENGAone, BMA/Akane, 2020, MDF acrylic, 150 cm in diameter
TENGAone, BMA/Akane, 2020, acrylic paint on mdf, : 71.5 cm | 28 1/8 inch
2020 TENGAone/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Perrotin
However, due to its close relationship with popular culture, social media and the influencer economy, the artists presented in this exhibition rely on a very different cultural and social environment from the American pop art of the 1960s and 70s. The reason why Murakami has become one of the most influential contemporary artists today, in addition to his own artistic achievements, is also due to the joint limited editions launched by him with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hublot and Uniqlo, as well as the music MV produced by musicians Hatsune Mirai, "Kanye" Kenye West and Billie Elish. At the same time, Murakami, who has been working to break down the cultural distinction, is also known for making smaller and lower-priced works on a large scale. The ultra-flat artists' "collectible" sculptures swim on the border between artworks and the tide play that has emerged since the 1990s, and attract the attention of Generation Z young people who are keen on handmade and blind box subcultures. These practices have propelled art collecting into the wider audience, even at home.