until Sunday March 06 2016

Mori Art Museum
T : +81 3 5777 8600
6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku
106-6150 Tokyo
Japan

This exhibition will focus on Murakami's recent works, mainly his epic The 500 Arhats (2012), a 3-meterhigh, 100-meter-long painting of the 500 enlightened followers (arhats) of Buddha, created in response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Some large sculptural pieces and abstract paintings will also be included. The Japan premiere of Murakami's The 500 Arhats highlights the power of prayer that transcends religious differences in a dynamic vision of the intersection of finite life and the infinite nature and universe. It allows us to understand Murakami's new artistic interests and directions. This exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, through the showing of Murakami's magnum opus and other recent works, will offer an opportunity to examine the role of art and religion in facing social turmoil and human mortality. It will also allow us to approach Murakami's profound exploration of the power of art to illuminate our understanding of the human condition and the realities of the world we live in.