Jellyfish Eyes - Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest, 2006 by Takashi Murakami

Jellyfish Eyes - Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest, 2006

Name: Jellyfish Eyes - Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest, 2006
Brand: Takashi Murakami
Availability: InStock

Takashi Murakami

Medium: hand-signed lithograph on somerset

Signature: signed, dated and annotated lower right

Framed size: 44 x 44"

Price on Request

15513581

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"Jellyfish Eyes - Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest" is a lithograph on somerset paper created by Takashi Murakami in 2006. From the edition of 60, the artwork is signed, dated and annotated lower right. The artwork is framed in a contemporary white frame and has a framed size of 44 x 44". The artwork ships framed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Takashi Murakami's "Jellyfish Eyes – Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest, 2006," captures the artist at a pivotal moment when his imaginative universe expanded beyond his iconic smiling flowers and Mr. DOB to embrace an entirely new cast of fantastical characters. Executed as a lithograph, the work introduces viewers to Max and Shimon, two characters set within a dreamlike forest environment that feels suspended somewhere between Japanese folklore, anime, and science fiction.

Max and Shimon appear as friendly guides through a surreal landscape of eyes, their expressive forms reflecting Murakami's fascination with the visual language of manga, animation, and kawaii ("cute") culture. Like much of his work, the image is immediately inviting while rewarding prolonged viewing with an abundance of intricate details.

The title refers to "Jellyfish Eyes," a body of work that would later evolve into one of Murakami's most ambitious multimedia projects, culminating in his 2013 feature film of the same name. Throughout the series, seemingly innocent creatures become symbols of imagination, transformation, and resilience. They occupy worlds where fantasy and reality coexist, encouraging viewers to embrace curiosity while hinting at deeper emotional and psychological themes beneath their charming appearances.

Produced during a period of growing international acclaim, the lithograph reflects the technical precision and exceptional color that characterize Murakami's editioned works. It also represents an important chapter in the evolution of his visual mythology, documenting the introduction of characters that would continue to appear across paintings, sculptures, and film.

Both enchanting and conceptually rich, "Jellyfish Eyes – Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest" exemplifies Murakami's ability to create works that are instantly accessible while offering deeper layers of meaning. It stands as a compelling example of the artist's talent for transforming contemporary pop imagery into a sophisticated and enduring vision of modern Japanese art.

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Details

Medium: hand-signed lithograph on somerset
Year: 2006
Edition: 60

Sheet size: 33.75 x 33.75"
Image size: 30.62 x 30.62"
Framed size: 44 x 44"

Signature: signed, dated and annotated lower right

Literature:

Murakami, T. Takashi Murakami: “I Love Prints And So I Make Them”. KaiKai Kiki Co., Ltd., 2009. pg. 125.

About the Work

About the Artist

Takashi Murakami (b.1962) trained in Nihonga at Tokyo University of the Arts (PhD, 1993). Around 2000 he introduced Superflat, his influential theory linking the planar aesthetics of Japanese art—from Edo screens to manga—to postwar consumer culture. His work has been the subject of major surveys including “©MURAKAMI” (MOCA LA; Brooklyn Museum; MMK Frankfurt; Guggenheim Bilbao, 2007–09), “Lineage of Eccentrics” (MFA Boston, 2017–18), and “Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow” (The Broad, 2022; Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025). He founded Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., a studio-publisher that sustains his large-scale paintings and sculptures and a globally collected print program spanning silkscreens, archival pigment works, and offset lithographs, often enhanced with metallic foils and high-gloss varnishes. Murakami describes his practice as a continual “backcrossing” of historical and pop vocabularies, an art of joyful surfaces and complex memory.

Jellyfish Eyes - Max & Shimon in the Strange Forest, 2006

$28,850.00

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