Year: 2016
Medium: assembled canvas on aluminum frame
Dimensions: 86 x 58.5 cm (33 7/8 x 23 in.)
Acquired from PERROTIN, 2022
The canvas, printed with Murakami’s iconic flower character, is printed on pieces of canvas that have been stitched together like a patchwork. Where Murakami’s works had previously all been finished to a cool-headed perfection, guaranteed by the high production quality of his studio, this piece has a somewhat warm and fluctuating feeling to it. A closer look at the various little pieces of fabric, which have been cut into thin rectangles and fixed together, reveals uneven colors and misalignments in the printed ink, as well as many areas with peeling paint, scratches, and stains. Products of such low quality would be considered a complete failure in a normal Murakami work, but the artist has taken them and adopted the handicraft patchwork form to transform them into a tableau that belongs to a distinct category, neither painting nor print. The color palette as a whole and the use of handicraft techniques closely resemble the works of Bauhaus artist Anni Albers. Murakami has consistently and continually redefined and deconstructed the history of art that preceded him, building a new artistic foundation on top. The deliberately excessive showiness characteristic of Murakami’s work has been suppressed here, but still evident is the keen awareness of art historical context that also constitutes a significant feature of this artist.
