Takashi Murakami joins the metaverse with his latest exhibition at Gagosian

The Japanese artist Takashi Murakami enters the metaverse via an exhibition at the famous art dealer Gagosian.

Takashi Murakami, one of the pillars of Contemporary Art, has installed his exhibition “An arrow through history” in the gallery of one of the world’s greatest art dealers, Larry Gagosian, at 976 and 980 Madison Avenue in New York. This exhibition is a bridge between traditional Chinese fine art, Japanese pop art and NFT.

*Gagosian gallery at 980 Madison Avenue, New-York © Gagosian*

For example, for traditional Chinese fine art, the artist reproduced and painted on thick canvas and wooden structures blue and white patterns of fish inspired by those on Chinese porcelain vases dating from the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). The bridge to digital is made through the Snapchat app and an augmented reality filter, allowing the audience to experience an immersion in the exhibition hall with digital images of fish swimming around the physical artworks.

The presentation at 976 Madison Avenue consists of works based on the Clone X NFT (2021) initiative, which he developed in collaboration with RTFKT Studios. The works presented transform digitally modeled NFTs into meticulously detailed, hand-painted portraits and large-scale figurative sculptures, physical manifestations of art created for the metaverse.

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Gagosian (@gagosian)

“When I work on a creative production, I make no distinction between digital and analog. I always work in the context of contemporary art, and that context is whether I can participate in events that manage to trigger a cognitive revolution,” explains Takashi Murakami, quoted in the exhibition’s press release.

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Takashi Murakami (@takashipom)

The immersive visual experience, created by RTFKT and Oncyber, can also be accessed online at Gagosian’s website or through a VR headset allowing access to the entire exhibition from anywhere in the world.

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.