Takashi Murakami is a famous Japanese artist known for his brightly colored and magical artworks. He is a well-known and talented artist known for his contemporary art style. The artist merges his traditional art with Japanese pop culture to enhance and dazzle his audiences. Takashi is known as one of the most influential artists to emerge from Japan in recent decades. He has collaborated with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton, musician Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and even Billie Eilish. He is well known for his brightly colored psychedelic work of art, sculptures, and silkscreen prints.
Murakami is the president and founder of an art production and artist management company called Kaikai Kiki Co. The company was founded in Saitama, Japan, in Asaka City, which later expanded to Tokyo, New York, Berlin, and Taiwan. Alongside art, Murakami is also focused on commercial media with his own line of fashion brands, merchandise, and animations. Let us know more about Takashi Murakami's biography and career.
Lauren Faust Biography - Animator And Writer
Early Life, Family, and Education
Takashi Murakami was born on February 1, 1962, in Tokyo, Japan. The artist was raised in a family of artists and art-lovers. Takashi's father worked at a U.S. naval base and took care of Takashi and his younger brother Yuji Murakami, who's also a painter. As a kid, the painter was inspired by Mangas and western influences to become an animation artist. Despite Takashi's rise to prominence, the artist has not shared any details regarding his parents and siblings. However, being raised in an artistic environment has helped Takashi become the successful person he is today.
Takashi attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Image Source: Takashi's Instagram.
In the 1980s, Murakami attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music to become an animator but eventually majored in Nihonga, a Japanese painting technique. The talented student got his master's degree in 1988 and went on to earn his Ph.D. in 1993. Being an artist, Takashi started to explore his style and experiment with various contemporary art styles, media, and strategies. His hard work and uniqueness led Takashi Murakami to have a successful career.
Career
After graduation, Takashi started to teach drawing and paintings but became unhappy with his ordinary nihonga arts. To make a lasting effect, Murakami created his own way of art styles after investigating the market and the existence of characters such as Hello Kitty, Miffy, Doraemon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mickey Mouse. The results of his art pieces have been fantastic as his arts are beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Despite their unusualness, Takashi's works have found their places in numerous art galleries and museums. His sculpture of Mr. DOB, a Mickey Mouse lookalike, was sold for $1.5 million.
Murakami also owns an art factory through which he paints his sketches. His factory is called Kaikai Kii Co and is situated in Saitama, Japan. In 1994, Takashi participated in the PS1 International Studio Program in New York after receiving a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council. He later opened a small studio in New York, which became his second factory. Some of his art pieces take two months to produce, while others may take up to two years. His big break came when he was assigned to make a Louis Vuitton handbag, which sold for $4.5K a piece. Throughout the years, Takashi's artworks have been displayed in various art houses and museums, though much of his earlier works were not well received in Japan.
Aforementioned, the painter has collaborated with some of the biggest brands and celebrities in the world. He began his work for Louis Vuitton in 2002, after receiving an invitation from designer Marc Jacobs which made him a star in his home country. In the following years, he worked alongside rapper Kanye West for his album Graduation's cover artwork and an animated music video for Kanye's song Good Morning. He also provided the cover artwork of West's 2018 album Kids See Ghosts featuring Kid Cudi. Also, Takashi has collaborated with music producer Pharrell Williams, Billie Eilish, and J Balvin. His collab's alongside various famous music artists and companies, have made Takashi Murakami a very wealthy person.
Takashi Murakami Net Worth and Earnings
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, back in 2019, Takashi Murakami's net worth was estimated to be $100 million. As the unique artist's works are in great demand, it would not be an understatement to think that his fortune has increased over the years.
In addition to his unique art pieces, they are also pretty expensive to purchase. His life-sized sculpture of an anime character called Hiropon was sold for $427K at Christie's auction house. Another model of an anime-inspired girl was sold for $567K in 2002, which was re-auctioned in 2010 and sold for $2.9 million. In May 2008, one of his anime-inspired sculptures called My Lonesome Cowboy sold for $15 .2 million at Sotheby's.
With such a unique art style and work history, Takashi Murakami's net worth has undoubtedly reached over $100 million. Listed below are some of his most expensive artworks alongside their prices with reference to Widewalls.
| ARTWORKS | PRICE |
| The World Of Sphere | $2.06 million |
| Vapor Trail | $2.1 million |
| Miss Ko2 Original, 1997 | $2.55 million |
| My Lonesome Cowboy, 1998 | $13.5 million |
| Tan Tan Bo, 2001 | $4.2 million |
Takashi's artworks are sold for millions of dollars, varying on the art's final product, time consumed, and many other elements. As stated above, Takashis's works are considered to be very expensive. His artworks have helped him to earn huge sums of money. Furthermore, Takashi's collaborations have also enabled him to increase his fortune by over millions of dollars.
Know for being the man behind the Superflat style, the talented personality is known as one of the most influential artists of the decade from Japan. His rise in fame is also a significant factor in increasing his total net worth.
Takashi Murakami's Artworks
The Japanese artist is one of the most respected Asian artists on the contemporary art scene, alongside being the only visual artist named one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine. According to Takashi, his artworks are mostly referenced from post-world war two Japan. Some of his famous arts have appeared on many videos and have become a trend after several commercial brands imprinted his artworks.
There are many kinds of Takashi Murakami's artworks, such as Flowers, Mr. DOB, Hiropon, Super Nova, Tan Tan Bo, My Lonesome Cowboy, Flower Ball, 727, Miss Ko2, flower Matango, Chaos, Mr. DOB All Stars, 3- meter Girl, etc. His artworks revolve around creating Japanese paintings with a touch of sci-fi, anime, or other references in them.
Flower
Takashi Murakami's multicolored Flowers artwork has engraved its existence in the modern art world, pop culture, fashion, and beyond. His flower has appeared on Drake's hoodies, Kid Cudi's chains, Kanye West album covers, and even Tekashi69 or 6ix9ine's shoulders. Murakami debuted his Flowers artworks in 1995, and it has steadily taken over the fashion market with various brands like Tourbillon watch, Porter bags, and Baller Jewelry showcasing their products with the art piece. Takashi's Flowers have been trending in pop culture for more than two decades, due to which a collab between Supreme and Takashi Murakami helped raise over $1 million for COVID-19 relief.
Takashi Murakami's multicolored Flower artwork is a famous piece of art in the modern pop culture. Image Source: Takashi's Instagram.
Nevertheless, Takashi's Flowers paintings have fetched the artist millions of dollars alongside leading imprints in luxury fashion items and even streetwear. As mentioned earlier, his flower arts have also been used in Kanye West's "Good Morning" video and animated TV show called Kids See Ghosts. His flowers have appeared in various other collaborations with other celebrities as well.
Takashi Murakami's Shop and Website
The famous Japanese painter has five factories worldwide; Saitama, Tokyo, New York, Berlin, and Taiwan. The factories help produce Takashi's artworks as well as manage and promote new artists. Takashi Murakami's shop is not available but has licensed other stores to retail his artworks. Some of his trusted shops are Perrotin, Artsper, Shop at the Board, and his own website.
Takashi Murakami has yet to open his official website where he shares his arts. However, his galleries have their own sites that provide information about the exhibitions and talented artists who showcase their hard work. Fans of the popular Japanese artist have also launched a website under Takashi Murakami's name. They have managed to accumulate information about Murakami himself and the large number of artwork that he has put out throughout the years.
Relationship and Children
Takashi Murakami dwells his days creating magnificent pieces of art and sculptors. His passion and mastery over his imagination and artwork have led him to live a lonely life. Despite his two marriages, Takashi spends most of his time away from his family due to his profession. In 2005, the painter told The New York Times that he didn't have enough time in his hands for personal attachments. However, he has found a partner to share his life with and married her in secret. As per a 2019 article in The Sydney Morning Herald, Takashi Murakami's wife has given birth to two beautiful offsprings, a son and a daughter.
Despite his tight work schedules and tours, Takashi Murakami tries to spend as much time with his children as possible. Image Source: Takashi's Instagram.
Takashi Murakami's children live with their mother at an estate outside Kyoto after he moved them from Tokyo. The young ones contact him through Facetime and social media to help them with their homework. The artist also talks about SpongeBob Squarepants with his son as both father-son loves the animated show. Though the artist has not shared any information about his beautiful children, there is no doubt that Takashi loves them very much. Despite his tight work schedules and tours, the painter tries to spend as much time with his children as possible.
Trivia and Fun Facts
- Takashi originally wanted to become an animator.
- He is the developer of the Superflat theory of art.
- He has 2.2 million followers on his Instagram.
