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Takashi Murakami, “Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Peonies and Butterflies’ – SUPERFLAT,” 2025-2026. Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas mounted on aluminum frame. (©︎2025-2026 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin)
For the preeminent contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, a recent pilgrimage to the estate and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny functioned as a rigorous intellectual exercise rather than a mere leisurely stroll. This immersive visit catalyzed a profound meditation on the centuries-long trajectory that connects the artistic traditions of Japan and Europe. Murakami meticulously scrutinized the intricate exchanges of aesthetic philosophy that have historically defined both cultures. These complex inquiries now serve as the foundational concept for his latest solo exhibition, Hark Back to Ukiyo-e. Currently presented at the Perrotin gallery in Los Angeles, the show investigates the reciprocal influences between Eastern and Western visual languages, compelling the viewer to reconsider the rigid boundaries of national art history.
The exhibition features a substantial collection of twenty-four new paintings by Murakami, which act as a contemporary reflection on ukiyo-e, the traditional Japanese woodblock prints that captivated the Western world. Murakami's work explores the pivotal role these prints played in shaping European Impressionism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This historical era marked a definitive turning point in global cultural history. For over two centuries, the Tokugawa shogunate had enforced a policy of national seclusion, effectively isolating Japan from most foreign interaction. However, the eventual opening of Japan's borders precipitated a surge in international commerce and cross-cultural dialogue. Consequently, European artists gained unprecedented access to Japanese art objects, including ukiyo-e prints, which ignited the aesthetic movement known as Japonisme.
Among the pioneering European figures who championed these Japanese works were Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Claude Monet. Murakami specifically highlights Monet's particular affinity for bijinga, a specific sub-genre of ukiyo-e prints that depicted beautiful women. This focus suggests that the admiration of Japanese aesthetics was not merely superficial but deeply rooted in specific artistic motifs and compositional theories.
Bijinga constitutes a distinct genre within the broader ukiyo-e tradition, focusing primarily on the portrayal of women, particularly courtesans, geishas, and the attendants of teahouses during the Edo period. According to the Perrotin gallery, these works elevated women to the status of alluring, idealized figures. For Impressionist painters like Monet, bijinga offered a revolutionary approach to composition. These prints introduced novel methods of spatial arrangement, exotic costumes, and a nuanced sensuality that differed sharply from Western conventions. Many of these distinctive characteristics are visibly embedded in Monet's own masterpieces, demonstrating the depth of this cross-cultural appropriation.
In the exhibition Hark Back to Ukiyo-e, Murakami inserts himself into this enduring cultural conversation. He reimagines large-scale bijinga compositions alongside canonical works from the Impressionist movement. By doing so, he constructs a tangible bridge between the historical past and the contemporary present, elucidating the precise mechanisms by which artistic ideas traversed the Pacific Ocean. This juxtaposition reveals that the dialogue between these cultures is not a historical artifact but a living, evolving practice that continues to inform modern creation.
A dedicated section of the gallery presents Murakami's own rendition of a famous 1875 painting by Monet, titled Woman with a Parasol, which portrays Monet's first wife, Camille. While Murakami's version remains faithful to the original's composition, it is uniquely paired with twelve magnified reproductions of ukiyo-e prints by Kikukawa Eizan and his teacher, Utamaro. This curated assembly allows viewers to trace a clear genealogical path through art history. The display explicitly demonstrates how Monet appropriated specific elements from ukiyo-e, revealing the sensual contours of the figures, the unique perspective of looking up at a parasol, the dynamic drapery of skirts suggesting wind, and the delicate rendering of cherry blossoms. These details provide concrete evidence of how deeply European art was shaped by Japanese design principles.
Takashi Murakami, “Claude Monet’s ‘Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son’ A Spacetime of Awareness – SUPERFLAT,” 2025-2026. Acrylic on canvas, mounted on aluminum frame. (©︎2025-2026 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin)
The gallery elucidates that Murakami employs a methodology with deep roots in Japanese artistic pedagogy. "As Murakami has pointed out, copying has a long history in Japan," the gallery statement reads. "By revisiting key works from the past, he is hoping to learn from his predecessors, in the process clarifying for himself the chain of relationships from ukiyo-e to modern abstraction." This assertion reframes the act of copying; it is not merely an exercise in imitation, but a rigorous method of studying the technical and philosophical secrets of a master. Through this process, an artist internalizes the evolution of style, understanding how modern abstraction is inextricably linked to ancient traditions.
Another dimension of the exhibition will resonate with established fans of Murakami's work, showcasing his signature style known as superflat. This aesthetic is characterized by a distinct lack of perspective or deep shadows, relying instead on vibrant, cartoon-like color palettes and flat surfaces. For this specific show, Murakami synthesizes his whimsical, illustrative characters with the classical techniques of Monet. The fusion of these divergent artistic voices creates a powerful sense of continuity, suggesting that the cultural exchange between Japan and Europe is not confined to the nineteenth century. Instead, it persists vigorously within the landscape of contemporary art, bridging the gap between pop culture and high art.
This exhibition is not an isolated instance of Murakami engaging with art history. In 2024, he presented a show titled Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami at the Gagosian gallery in London. In that exhibition, he overlaid ancient Japanese artworks with a contemporary aesthetic twist. This project challenged the rigid notion that national art traditions should be preserved in isolation or treated as sacred, untouchable artifacts. Instead, he interwove these historical styles with pop culture references, including his iconic Mr. DOB mascot and graphic, anime-inspired color schemes.
Much like Hark Back to Ukiyo-e, the London exhibition examined the reciprocal impact of European and Japanese aesthetics, a relationship that intensified following the Edo Period (1603–1868). During this extensive era of isolation, Japan cultivated a unique artistic language that would eventually revolutionize the global art world. The continuity between these two shows underscores a consistent thematic interest: the fluidity of artistic identity across borders.
In his newest solo exhibition, Hark Back to Ukiyo-e, Murakami once again explores the influence of Japanese art on European Impressionism. However, he also examines the reverse trajectory: how European concepts subsequently influenced Japanese art. The full title of the show, Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme's Genesis, clarifies this dual focus. The term genesis denotes the origin or fundamental beginning of a process. Murakami is meticulously tracing the lineage that connects his modern superflat style back to the very inception of the Japonisme movement.
This exhibition invites the audience to perceive the intricate connections spanning different eras and cultures. It posits that art is a global, continuous conversation that transcends centuries. By blending the archaic with the modern, and the classical with the pop, Murakami facilitates a deeper understanding of how the art world has evolved. The exhibition Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme's Genesis will be displayed at the Perrotin gallery in Los Angeles from February 14 through March 14, 2026.
This timeframe offers art enthusiasts a unique opportunity to explore the shared heritage of two great traditions and witness their ongoing mutual inspiration. Through these paintings, Murakami demonstrates that history is not merely a chronological list of dates, but a living narrative of human interaction, evolving ideas, and aesthetic beauty moving across boundaries. Whether one is a devotee of Murakami or a scholar of Impressionism, this exhibition provides a novel perspective on the enduring links between Japanese and European art, revealing that the dialogue between these cultures remains as vital today as it was centuries ago.