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October 31, 2014
Caro

On View: “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” at JANM

Hello Kitty mania has hit Los Angeles. On view in conjuction with Hello Kitty Con, which opened yesterday, is her "Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty" 40th anniversary exhibit at Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The show is curated by Christine Yano, author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, and Jamie Rivadeneira, founder of JapanLA. Attendees are led through a retrospective that highlights the history and development of Hello Kitty as a cultural icon, before they arrive to the art exhibition, a modern interpretation of this famous character.

Hello Kitty mania has hit Los Angeles. On view in conjuction with Hello Kitty Con, which opened yesterday, is her “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” 40th anniversary exhibit at Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The show is curated by Christine Yano, author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, and Jamie Rivadeneira, founder of JapanLA. Attendees are led through a retrospective that highlights the history and development of Hello Kitty as a cultural icon, before they arrive to the art exhibition, a modern interpretation of this famous character.

Colin Christian

Among the artists are several featured in the pages of Hi-Fructose; Audrey Kawasaki, Colin Christian, D*Face, Junko Mizuno, Yoskay Yamamoto, Brandi Milne, Gary Baseman, Hikari Shimoda, and Kazuki Takamatsu, to name a few. Their original pieces, which span oil painting, found object figures, interactive installations, photographic prints and stop motion animation, show the considerable influence Hello Kitty has made on New Contemporary art. During their art-making for the show, Sanrio made an announcement that went viral: “Hello Kitty is not a cat”. She doesn’t have a mouth, which allows the artists to project any kind of emotion onto her. Through their art, viewers are encouraged to look at Hello Kitty as a symbol of universality. As in Colin Christian’s glittery, larger-than-life space explorer kitty, who overlooks the final stage of the exhibit, this is also a look into Hello Kitty’s future.

“Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” is now on view at JANM through April 26th, 2015.

Gary Baseman

Osamu Watanabe

Kristin Tercek

Brandi Milne

Hikari Shimoda

Yoskay Yamamoto

Buff Monster

Kevin Earl Taylor

Martin Hsu

Junko Mizuno

Audrey Kawasaki

Kazuki Takamatsu

Topics

Hello Kitty, Japanese American National Museum, Japanese art, Japanese Pop Culture

drawing, Japanese art, Pen and Ink, pop art, Yasuto Sasada

January 2, 2015

Japanese artist Yasuto Sasada, just 27 years old, has already made a name for himself in the modern art and fashion world, through his collaborations with Yohji Yamamoto. Sasada has his own visual language that combines cultural traditions with the future. His detailed pen drawings of creatures mix motifs from modern technology and religion. Their black and white tonality, achieved with a thin 0.3mm pen, is harshly contrasted against bright pink, blue, and green backgrounds. He's created a new form of painting that juxtaposes old and contemporary ideas, taking us into an entirely new dimension.

Takashi Murakami Exhibits New Paintings and Sculptures in Ibiza, Spain

Arhat, Cirque du Soleil, Japanese art, Superflat, Takashi Murakami

July 13, 2015

Japanese artist and founder of Superflat, Takashi Murakami, has taken over four venues in Ibiza, Spain for his latest exhibition: Art Projects Ibiza, Lune Rouge Ibiza, the Ibiza Gran Hotel, and restaurant and performance space HEART Ibiza. His presence there coincides with the opening of Lune Rouge Ibiza, the collection of Guy Laliberté, the Canadian philanthropist perhaps best known as the CEO of Cirque du Soleil. The artist will have a selection of older work on display at the Lune Rouge dating back to his "Arhat" series (covered here), including his massive 32-foot long painting "69 Arhat's "Beneath the Bodhi Tree" (2013). The series was notable for its introduction of more historical Japanese art motifs in Murakami's works, some of which can be found at Laliberté's Casino de Ibiza.

Dazzling Kaleidoscopic Works by Yuko Kanatani

Installation Art, Japanese art, Nike, Pip & Pop, Yuko Kanatani

April 1, 2015

Fans of recently featured duo Pip & Pop will enjoy Japanese artist Yuko Kanatani, one of their inspirations. Kanatani recently gained international momentum after the launch of her Nike sneakers and 'Tight of the Moment' line, which features her psychedelic designs. Her works comprise of drawings, paintings, animation, and immersive large-scale installations where one feels like they are walking into a kaleidoscope. Her bright and dazzling ornamental imagery represents varying emotions, and themes of infinity and movement.

Yoshitomo Nara’s “New Works” Characterizes Alienation, Anger and Curiosity

Japanese art, pop art, Yoshimoto Nara

May 10, 2016

Stephen Friedman gallery in London is currently showing their fourth solo exhibition with acclaimed Japanese artist, Yoshitomo Nara, covered here. Following his recent solo exhibitions at Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, Asia Society Museum, New York, Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland, "New Works" is the simple title of the current exhibition by one of the most important living contemporary Japanese artists.

On View: “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” at JANM

Yasuto Sasada’s Drawings of Machine-Inspired Creatures

Takashi Murakami Exhibits New Paintings and Sculptures in Ibiza, Spain

Dazzling Kaleidoscopic Works by Yuko Kanatani

Yoshitomo Nara’s “New Works” Characterizes Alienation, Anger and Curiosity

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