Murakami: Ego

A comprehensive volume—overseen by the artist himself—on one of the most renowned living artists today, Takashi Murakami. Takashi Murakami is celebrated the world over for his deft blurring of high and low art. In this volume, accompanying a major exhibition of his work and the first in the Middle East, readers are immersed in the unique way Murakami channels the ecstasy and anxiety of contemporary culture. Conceived by the artist as a self-portrait in the guise of a cartoon, Murakami – Ego illuminates the role of the artist as a cipher and critic of pop phenomena as well as a mirror of global networks of consumerism, interpretation, and exchange. The book features some of the artist’s most celebrated series, including Kaikai Kiki Lots of Faces and Pom and Me. Murakami has conceived of the exhibition itself as a work of art, creating new modes of display that include sculptural pedestals with digital animation, a circus tent that doubles as an indoor cinema, and an impressive 300-foot-long painting, all of which are featured in the book. In addition to an interview by curator Massimiliano Gioni, Murakami will contribute writings on various works.

Takashi Murakami has become recognized as one of the most prominent contemporary artists of his time. His work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at museums and art institutions throughout the world. Recent shows include the traveling retrospective ©MURAKAMI and the Château de Versailles’s solo exhibition of his works on the palace grounds. Massimiliano Gioni is the associate director and director of exhibitions for the New Museum in New York and the curator of the exhibition Murakami – Ego for the Qatar Museums Authority.