VIRGIL ABLOH
Born in Rockford, Illinois, U.S. in 1980, died in 2021. He led the luxury street brand Off-White and rose up to become the creative director of Louis Vuitton. Behind his fast and glamorous career path, he has been battling cancer since 2019.As an artist, he considered Takashi Murakami as his inspirational leader. His solo exhibition at the Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Tokyo, the collaboration work with Murakami, and the duo exhibition at the mega-gallery Gagosian, have all contributed to their relationship that could be described as both allies and partners in crime. He studied architecture, reached the pinnacle of fashion design, and was extraordinary in demonstrating versatility in everything he did whether as an artist or a DJ.
-
Title: Bernini DOB: Carmine Pink and Black
Year: 2018
Medium: Acrylic on canvas mounted on aluminum
Dimensions: 141.6 × 120.3 cm (55 3/4 × 47 3/8 in.) -
Title: Our spot 1
Year: 2018
Medium: Acrylic on canvas mounted to aluminum
Dimensions: 100 x 100 cm (39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.)
-
Bernini DOB: Carmine Pink and Black
-
Year: 2018This is a collaboration work of Takashi Murakami and Virgil Abloh. Takashi Murakami, a leading contemporary artist representing Japan both with his name and his quality in art, and the creator of “Superflat”, an art concept he proposed in 2000 that spread around the world from Japan. Virgil Abloh, founder of the high-end street brand Off-White, and the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton in his late years. This work could be described as a rather extreme mixture of the self-portrait by 17th century Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini which Abloh used in the 2018 Autumn/Winter collection of Off-White, and Murakami’s character, Mr. DOB. Various variations of “Bernini DOB” which is connected to this work were displayed at the exhibitions of the duo at Gagosian Gallery in London, Paris, and Los Angeles throughout 2018.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas mounted on aluminum
Dimensions: 141.6 × 120.3 cm (55 3/4 × 47 3/8 in.)
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2022
Past Exhibitions
-
- 2022 Art Collaboration Kyoto
https://a-c-k.jp/
- 2022 Art Collaboration Kyoto
-
Our Spot 1
-
Year: 2018The white “crossed arrow” logo, the symbol of Abloh’s brand Off-White, is drawn largely over the skull motif which Murakami frequently uses. The relationship of Abloh and Murakami was not only a collaboration, but a strong tie of mutual trust and friendship. Abloh mentioned Murakami in several interviews that he had an admiration for him since he was an intern in the architecture industry. The young Abloh was deeply influenced by Murakami, who was already a collaborator artist for Louis Vuitton back then. On the other hand, it is possible that Murakami also considered Abloh as a friend with whom they could deeply understand each other. Abloh was the only artist (besides Doraemon) that Murakami allowed to create work completely merging with his work rather than antagonizing each other.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas mounted to aluminum
Dimensions: 100 x 100 cm (39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.)
Acquired from PHILLIPS, 2022