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Ego by Takashi Murakami

Past Exhibition

Qatar Museums

9 February - 24 June 2012

This exhibition took place at Qatar Museums Gallery – Al Riwaq.

Ego opened at Qatar Museums Gallery – Al Riwaq. In an exhibition space spanning almost 2,300 square metres, over 60 works were on view. These included sculptures, paintings, animations and a giant circus tent.

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Through bursts of colour and a range of characters, the work touched on themes of consumerism — its ecstasy and anxiety — resonating with a broad audience in Doha.

Force of Nature

For the exhibition, Murakami realised his largest painting to date. The 500 Arhats stretched 100 metres, wrapping around three sides of the main gallery space, divided into four 25-metre sections devoted to wind, forest, fire and mountain. Conceived as a response to the recent natural disasters in Japan, the work drew on traditional historical painting to create a contemporary monument to the power of nature.

“ I like to think of this exhibition as the foundation of 'Murakami City'. Takashi has conceived of this show as an urban experience, a walk into a gigantic artificial landscape, a science fiction environment. ”

Massimiliano Gioni, Curator

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About Takashi Murakami

Murakami worked across fine art and commercial media — including fashion, merchandise and animation — and was known for blurring the line between high and low art. He coined the term superflat to describe both the aesthetic characteristics of traditional Japanese art and his own artistic style. Murakami was the founder and President of Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., through which he managed the careers of several younger artists and organised the biannual art fair, GEISAI.

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Murakami: Ego

In 2012 Qatar Museums presented renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s first exhibition in the Middle East. This book relives that exhibition.