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About the Work
"Untitled (Pink)" is an acrylic on sewn canvas with aluminum stretcher bar painting created by Takashi Murakami in 2016. The artwork is signed and dated 'TAKASHI 2016' upper right verso, descriptions of staff listed names / production on verso center on stretcher bar. The canvas size is 33.75 x 23" and the artwork is framed in a contemporary white frame. The artwork ships framed.
Created in 2016, this painting is part of Murakami’s mature body of post-Superflat work, where his visual language has become more introspective and materially ambitious. "Untitled (2016)" is a vibrant and conceptually layered composition executed on sewn canvas panels, which resemble textile quilting — a format Murakami has explored to emphasize modularity, handcraft, and surface tension. The entire canvas is painted over with a repeating pattern of Murakami’s iconic skull motif—hot pink on a white ground, such that the skulls’ eyes and noses appear white, staring out in hollow repetition. The background is further energized with daubs of color — bright aqua, yellow, and orange — infusing the image with rhythm, spontaneity, and chromatic contrast. The use of stitched panels adds a tactile, sculptural element to the surface, evoking Japanese textile traditions, Buddhist robes, and patchwork as an aesthetic and philosophical gesture. It also suggests an awareness of material fragility and layered construction — both literal and symbolic.
The skull is one of Murakami’s most profound recurring motifs. Far from being purely macabre, his use of skulls speaks to both Buddhist meditation on impermanence (mujō), and to the legacy of postwar trauma in Japan. In Murakami’s world, the skull is a symbol of death made decorative — playful yet sobering, a repeating unit in a surface of chaos and color — evoking cycles of life and entropy; and a counterpoint to his smiling flowers — representing the other side of the human condition.
"Untitled (2016)" is a visually electrifying, materially rich, and philosophically grounded painting that synthesizes the artist’s key themes: mortality, repetition, impermanence, and beauty in chaos. With its hot pink skulls, chromatic bursts, and sewn canvas construction, the work is both decorative and meditative — a tapestry of modern existence, rendered with discipline and exuberance. Murakami’s work has been exhibited at major institutions including MoMA, Guggenheim, Palais de Tokyo, and the Château de Versailles. His paintings, sculptures, and multimedia works are held in leading collections worldwide.
About the Artist
Takashi Murakami was born in Tokyo, Japan on February 1, 1962. His influence for art derives from his mother, who studied needlepoint and designed textiles. Murakami knew he wanted to be an artist when he grew up, and had always taken a large interest in animation and comics. He studied art throughout much of his adolescence, and applied to study at Tokyo National University. He was accepted and later received his Ph.D. in Fine Arts and Music, in which he learned “Nihong”, or traditional Japanese painting. After his studies, Murakami moved to New York in 1994 and was exposed to, and inspired by, Western contemporary artists like Jeff Koons.
More from Takashi Murakami
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