Takashi Murakami presents 'Superflat new pop culture' in Donostia

''Superflat new pop culture'' exhibition can be visited from April 19th until June 19th at Okendo Culture Center in Donostia-San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa).

Superflat is a concept being proposed by artist Takashi Murakami whose paintings deal with two dimensional spatiality rendered somewhere between traditional Japanese painting and modern anime. The phrase, though coined by Murakami for his art, has recently drawn attention from young scholars due to its connotations: ''devoid of perspective and devoid of hierarchy, all existing equally and simultaneously.

The Japanese artist Takashi Murakami founded Superflat postmodern art movement, which is influenced by manga and anime. It is also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis and Seattle. The term is used by Murakami to refer to various flattened forms in Japanese graphic art, animation, pop culture and fine arts, as well as the "shallow emptiness of Japanese consumer culture".

In addition to Murakami, artists whose work is considered "Superflat" include Chiho Aoshima, Mahomi Kunikata, Sayuri Michima, Yoshitomo Nara, Tatsuyuki Tanaka, and Aya Takano. In addition, some animators within anime and some mangaka are considered Superflat, especially Koji Morimoto (and much of the output of his animation studio Studio 4°C), and the work of Hitoshi Tomizawa, author of Alien 9 and Milk Closet.