That KYNE Show: Why KYNE is Murakami’s next Kingmaker Project

Recently the graffiti artist KYNE has appeared on Murakami’s radar. Kaikai Kiki’s Tonari no Zingaro has released a series of silkscreen editions to promote him, and KYNE has a Perrotin appearance in Healing, a group show curated by Murakami. Their connection stems in part from a shared love of channeling Showa era pop culture in …

Everything you wanted to know about the Madsaki prints, but were afraid to ask

The Madsaki Flowers silkscreen prints premiered with great fanfare at the 2017 ComplexCon in Los Angeles. In the follow-up to its initial release, Madsaki Flowers re-appeared in separate sales by Murakami’s official sponsor Gallery Perrotin, and at Murakami’s newly unveiled Tonari no Zingaro (‘Next to Zingaro’, Murakami’s pop-up shop next to Oz Zingaro). Now this …

It’s a Madsaki, Madsaki, Madsaki, World: Or How the Apprentice Elevated the Master of Superflat

Maybe you know him from Barnstormers, or perhaps his Please Don’t Spit on the Painting Show at Widewalls; in any event, there’s not much more I can say about Madsaki that has not been written up in Juxtapoz; and similarly on Honeyee in Japanese here (except he admits to his passionate study of art in …

MADSAKI Says “Yo! snipe1 & UFO907, Get Your Asses Over Here! (2017)

Madsaki introduced snipe1 and UFO 907 to Japan with his curated show, MADSAKI Says “Yo! snipe1 & UFO907, Get Your Asses Over Here! in late 2017. Murakami’s statement, Graffiti Zombies in TOKYO, provides a good primer and insight into his collaborative work with Madsaki. Enjoy images from MADSAKI Says “Yo! snipe1 & UFO907, Get Your …

Images from MADSAKI’s Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (2017)

Madsaki had his second Kaikai Kiki solo exhibit with Here Today, Gone Tomorrow at the Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Roppongi. Madsaki’s inspiration comes from his wife, who appears in many of the images that pay tribute to the work of Nobuyoshi Araki. In the introduction to this show, Murakami describes his discovery of Madsaki’s work …