This exhibition from the 29th of September 2017 to the 4th of February 2018 is the first major survey of Takashi Murakami's work in Russia and will span several periods of the artist’s career from the mid-1990s to now. 

Presenting his work in the broader context of Japanese culture for the first time, the exhibition pays homage to Murakami’s long-term project to creatively unite and question Eastern and Western traditions.

Consisting of five sections that each explore a particular phenomenon in Japanese culture which has been formally or semantically examined by Murakami, the show reveals the artist’s inquiries into the nuanced facets of Japanese culture and public consciousness, blurring the line between high and low culture while merging various media into one continuous flow of images.

The first section, Geijutsu (Learning and Technique), will focus on the genealogy of Murakami’s paintings and his ideas regarding the pictorial space and the artist’s craft.

The second section, The Little Boy and the Fat Man, is a tribute to Murakami’s project Little Boy (2005), which explored the symbolism of August 1945 and the ways in which the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings transformed Japanese visual culture after the war. 

The third section, Kawaii, will explore the intersections between Murakami’s work and the aesthetics of kawaii (cuteness), which is an integral part of contemporary Japanese culture.

The fourth section, Sutajio, will examine the structure of Murakami’s studio. The exhibition will include a recreation of part of his “factory,” in which the artist’s assistants will work during the installation of the exhibition.

The “phantom chapter”, Asobi & Kazari, will be spread across the Museum’s non-exhibition spaces, demonstrating the playful aspect of Murakami’s work and his interest in decoration and patterns which are rooted in the Japanese artistic tradition.