Murakami meets Midwest!
Who knew Cleveland would be the place for Murakami magic? From rainbow flowers to spooky skulls, it was a wild ride!
Last weekend, I went to see the exhibition “Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow” by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, held in Cleveland, Ohio.
Until now, his exhibitions have mostly taken place in big cities like New York and LA, so I was really curious what kind of strategy was behind holding it in the Midwest, in Cleveland. I asked my husband to take me there!
As soon as the Cleveland Museum of Art opened, we went in—and right away, there it was: a tall Japanese-style building standing in the atrium connecting the old and new wings. It turns out this is a replica of the Hall of Dreams from Horyu-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The exhibition started inside that building. While waiting in line, I had time to look at it closely—and even noticed that the carpet had Murakami’s iconic flowers and skull patterns. Standing on art with your shoes on? What luxury!
Inside the Hall of Dreams, there were big paintings of the four sacred animals from Kyoto—dragon, turtle, phoenix, and tiger—all displayed in a dark room. So powerful!
Outside the hall, there was also a bell that you could ring. I gave it a try, but I got nervous and didn’t make a very nice sound lol.
If you look closely, there’s an octopus!
The whole set was made in collaboration with the production team from the TV show Shogun! I love little behind-the-scenes stories like that.
After that, we went down the escalator to the regular gallery space. The show was split into two rooms, and the amount of work showed how wide Murakami’s interests are, how deeply he thinks, and just how much he makes. There’s no way I can show it all on the blog, so I’ll just share a few of my favorites!
The first space had white walls and was full of colorful, classic Murakami-style cuteness.
As an illustrator, I especially loved seeing sketches and evolution of his DOB character over the years. I didn’t know it was okay to change a character design so much! There were even pieces mixing this super pop design with traditional Japanese painting—total Murakami vibes.
And this one—he made it when he was still in university! It’s creepy but full of talent. In the painting on the right, you can spot Mario running around if you look close. His perspective work is amazing too!
And of course, you can’t talk about Murakami without his flower characters. A giant wall of them made me smile instantly.
He’s always been shameless (in a good way!) about diving into pop culture. During COVID, he even tried NFTs and made his own trading cards. The cards were… well… basically Pokémon rip-offs, lol.
The second room had a completely different vibe: darker, filled with works inspired by Japanese history, interpreted in Murakami’s own way. There were Kutani-style pieces, Murakami takes on famous gold screen paintings, and ceramic works made with a Shigaraki pottery artist (I forgot to take photos of the pottery—ahh!).
Throughout the show, you could see his “Superflat” concept—the one he invented that mixes otaku and pop culture with traditional Japanese painting, both of which are flat 2D styles. It was a powerful, exciting exhibition.
Big thanks to my husband for taking me!