Takashi Murakami
(Japanese, b. 1962)
Kaikai Kiki, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study of Isabel Rawsthorne)
2004
4-color offset print with UV white high-gloss varnish
Edition of 300
Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist in ink lower right
Sheet: 26.9 × 26.9 in. (68.3 × 68.3 cm)
Publisher: Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., Tokyo
Executed in 2004, Kaikai Kiki, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study of Isabel Rawsthorne) is a landmark graphic print from Takashi Murakami’s acclaimed series paying tribute to mid-century British master Francis Bacon. Reinterpreting Bacon’s famous 1960s portraits of artist and muse Isabel Rawsthorne, Murakami translates Bacon’s angst-ridden, flesh-distorting existentialism into his own "Superflat" vocabulary. The composition features a roaring, multi-eyed, sharp-toothed character exploding across the canvas in vibrant camouflage patterning, surrounded by floating concentric rings and surreal, morphing entities.
This work exemplifies Murakami’s unique ability to build bridges between Western post-war art history and contemporary Japanese pop culture. Long an admirer of Bacon's psychological intensity and distorted human forms, Murakami substitutes raw oil paint with flat, razor-sharp anime contours and brilliant color fills. Enhanced with a specialized UV white coating that gives the surface an iridescent, light-catching sheen, the work fuses high-art historical citation with the pristine, polished production of Murakami's Kaikai Kiki studio.
As one of the most celebrated and globally recognized contemporary artists, Takashi Murakami holds a PhD in traditional Nihonga painting from the Tokyo University of the Arts. Over his four-decade career, he has seamlessly bridged high art, fashion, and international pop culture, collaborating with world-renowned fashion houses and pop icons while mounting monumental exhibitions across the globe. Today, Murakami’s groundbreaking paintings, sculptures, and editioned prints are preserved in the permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People"
Landmark retrospective solo exhibition, ©MURAKAMI, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles / MOCA (2007; traveled to Brooklyn Museum, MMK Frankfurt, and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao)
Historic solo exhibition at the Château de Versailles, France (2010)
Founder and President, Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. (Tokyo / New York)
Major solo survey exhibitions at the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)
Selected Permanent Collections:
The Museum of Modern Art / MoMA (New York, NY)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles / MOCA (Los Angeles, CA)
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain)
Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA)
PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia)
Takashi Murakami
(Japanese, b. 1962)
Kaikai Kiki, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study of Isabel Rawsthorne)
2004
4-color offset print with UV white high-gloss varnish
Edition of 300
Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist in ink lower right
Sheet: 26.9 × 26.9 in. (68.3 × 68.3 cm)
Publisher: Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., Tokyo
Executed in 2004, Kaikai Kiki, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study of Isabel Rawsthorne) is a landmark graphic print from Takashi Murakami’s acclaimed series paying tribute to mid-century British master Francis Bacon. Reinterpreting Bacon’s famous 1960s portraits of artist and muse Isabel Rawsthorne, Murakami translates Bacon’s angst-ridden, flesh-distorting existentialism into his own "Superflat" vocabulary. The composition features a roaring, multi-eyed, sharp-toothed character exploding across the canvas in vibrant camouflage patterning, surrounded by floating concentric rings and surreal, morphing entities.
This work exemplifies Murakami’s unique ability to build bridges between Western post-war art history and contemporary Japanese pop culture. Long an admirer of Bacon's psychological intensity and distorted human forms, Murakami substitutes raw oil paint with flat, razor-sharp anime contours and brilliant color fills. Enhanced with a specialized UV white coating that gives the surface an iridescent, light-catching sheen, the work fuses high-art historical citation with the pristine, polished production of Murakami's Kaikai Kiki studio.
As one of the most celebrated and globally recognized contemporary artists, Takashi Murakami holds a PhD in traditional Nihonga painting from the Tokyo University of the Arts. Over his four-decade career, he has seamlessly bridged high art, fashion, and international pop culture, collaborating with world-renowned fashion houses and pop icons while mounting monumental exhibitions across the globe. Today, Murakami’s groundbreaking paintings, sculptures, and editioned prints are preserved in the permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People"
Landmark retrospective solo exhibition, ©MURAKAMI, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles / MOCA (2007; traveled to Brooklyn Museum, MMK Frankfurt, and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao)
Historic solo exhibition at the Château de Versailles, France (2010)
Founder and President, Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. (Tokyo / New York)
Major solo survey exhibitions at the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)
Selected Permanent Collections:
The Museum of Modern Art / MoMA (New York, NY)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles / MOCA (Los Angeles, CA)
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain)
Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA)
PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia)
