Japanese pop art icon Takashi Murakami has returned to Seoul for his first solo exhibition in 12 years, bringing his signature smiling flowers and 'Superflat' philosophy to Korean audiences. The artist, wearing his characteristic flower-shaped hat and a large panda pendant, greeted visitors with the same playful energy that defines his internationally recognized artwork.
The exhibition, titled 'Seoul, Kawaii Summer Vacation,' is being presented by Gagosian at APMA Cabinet, a project space located inside the Amorepacific headquarters in Seoul's Yongsan District. This compact but impactful showcase features new works that demonstrate Murakami's continued exploration of his distinctive aesthetic philosophy. The show marks Murakami's first Seoul solo exhibition since 'Takashi in Superflat Wonderland' at Samsung Museum of Art Plateau in 2013, and follows his major 2023 retrospective 'MurakamiZombie' at the Busan Museum of Art.
For global mega gallery Gagosian, this represents their third exhibition in Korea despite not maintaining a permanent space in the country. The collaboration highlights the growing international interest in bringing world-class contemporary art to Korean audiences through strategic partnerships with local venues.
Murakami's iconic smiling flowers, instantly recognizable from his merchandise and collaborations with K-pop groups including BLACKPINK and NewJeans, take center stage in this exhibition. The flowers appear in various forms throughout the show – as paintings, sculptures, and works set against gold-leaf backgrounds. However, these cheerful blooms carry deeper meaning, embodying contradictions between hope and anxiety, cuteness and critique, mass production and traditional craftsmanship.
The artist's aesthetic foundation lies in nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting style that he studied extensively through his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. By the mid-1990s, Murakami began revolutionizing this classical approach by incorporating elements from anime, manga, otaku subcultures, and the childlike kawaii (cute) aesthetic. This fusion led to the development of his 'Superflat' theory and technique, which deliberately flattens the hierarchy between high and low art, traditional and modern styles, Eastern and Western cultures, and authentic versus imitative works.
'I created [the concept of] Superflat over 20 years ago,' Murakami explained during a press preview. 'When I first proposed it, the way Eastern and Western cultures expressed ideas visually felt very different. But now, through platforms like social media, everyone communicates in this flattened, shared visual space. I feel I predicted that. And even with new energies emerging – such as Trump's rise or new polarizing policies – AI (artificial intelligence) is now making knowledge equally accessible. So this Superflat society is still relevant.'
The Seoul exhibition deliberately focuses on Murakami's signature flower motif, both due to the venue's spatial limitations and as a strategic curatorial decision. 'As his first solo show in Seoul in more than a decade, we wanted something essential, something that could represent his vast universe in a compact way,' said Lee Ji-young, Gagosian's Seoul director. 'The flower motif, which has threaded through his entire career as both an accessible and significant symbol, was the perfect choice.'
Among the exhibition's standout pieces is 'Summer Vacation Flowers under the Golden Sky' (2025), a panoramic painting where Murakami's candy-colored blooms stretch across a gold-leaf surface. Upon closer inspection, viewers can discover skulls subtly embossed beneath the surface, representing the artist's recurring memento mori symbolism that adds depth to the seemingly cheerful imagery.
Another significant work, 'Tachiaoi-zu' (2025), demonstrates Murakami's engagement with Japanese art history. This piece pays homage to Edo-period artist Ogata Korin, as Murakami reinterprets the traditional kiku-zu (chrysanthemum screen) format through his contemporary lens. Red, pink, and white hollyhocks bloom across shimmering gold leaf, while his signature skull patterns emerge like hidden subtext beneath the floral display.
'There's a recent TV series called Shogun, based on a novel that portrays Japan from a foreigner's perspective,' Murakami noted. 'With Tachiaoi-zu, I felt it was time to express that era from my own point of view.' This statement reflects the artist's ongoing dialogue between historical tradition and contemporary reinterpretation.
The exhibition's title itself represents a careful balance between local relevance and personal meaning. The inclusion of 'Seoul' was deliberately chosen through collaboration with the Gagosian Seoul team. 'We discussed every detail with the Gagosian Seoul team,' Murakami explained. 'They gave feedback on what Korean audiences might connect well with and we made selections based on those preferences.'
The 'Summer Vacation' reference, however, draws from deeply rooted Japanese cultural concepts and personal sentiment. 'In Japan, summer vacation holds a special place,' the artist said. 'If you watch Hayao Miyazaki's films, the story often begins when vacation starts and ends when it ends. That concept stayed with me and now it feels special to me too.' This connection to Studio Ghibli's narrative structure reveals another layer of cultural reference in Murakami's work.
Murakami's global significance extends beyond his colorful, accessible imagery. His ability to draw from both historical and contemporary forms while navigating the international art world has established him as a unique voice in contemporary art. Beneath the playful visuals lies a complex vision that reflects the economic, social, and psychological uncertainties of postwar Japan, creating art that resonates internationally through its blend of history, cultural memory, and personal reflection.
Nick Simunovic, Gagosian's Asia Managing Director, describes Murakami as 'one of the greatest artists of our time.' He elaborated: 'Takashi occupies this incredibly unique position as an artist who is not only changing the course and direction of contemporary art in the future, also looking back and making us aware of the past. I don't think of Takashi as an Asian artist or Western artist. Takashi is an artist whose work is incredibly relevant everywhere in the world today.'
The exhibition 'Seoul, Kawaii Summer Vacation' will run through October 11, with free admission available to all visitors. This accessibility aligns with Murakami's philosophy of breaking down barriers between high and low culture, making contemporary art available to diverse audiences regardless of economic background.
