“This is not the first time that Murakami has evoked [Yves] Klein’s legacy in his work. In 1991, Murakami painted monochromes which reflected the influence of Klein’s research, ‘Azure’. In 1995, he made a silver and gold-leafed triptych which echoed the Klein monochromes while also evoking the wonderful backgrounds of traditional Japanese art. In 2006, he applied the imprint of his body on canvas, in the manner of anthropométries, before covering it with mesmerising and energising colored squares… With these Monochromes, Takashi Murakami is also taking up the time-old theme of Vanities. The works present accumulations of skulls and flowers, dizzying towards infinity where the pattern fades away in its own abstract repetition.”
— Perrotin, in the press release for Takashi Murakami’s Homage to Yves Klein solo show at their Paris gallery in 2011-2012

Detail of the present work
- Provenance
  Galerie Perrotin, Tokyo
  Private Collection, New York
  Acquired from the above by the present owner
- Artist Biography
  Takashi Murakami
  Japanese • 1962
  Takashi Murakami is best known for his contemporary combination of fine art and pop culture. He uses recognizable iconography like Mickey Mouse and cartoonish flowers and infuses it with Japanese culture. The result is a boldly colorful body of work that takes the shape of paintings, sculptures and animations.
  In the 1990s, Murakami founded the Superflat movement in an attempt to expose the "shallow emptiness of Japanese consumer culture." The artist plays on the familiar aesthetic of mangas, Japanese-language comics, to render works that appear democratic and accessible, all the while denouncing the universality and unspecificity of consumer goods. True to form, Murakami has done collaborations with numerous brands and celebrities including Kanye West, Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams and Google.
  View More Works