Wow, Kaikai Kiki 2010 - 2011

Takashi Murakami's 'Wow, Kaikai Kiki' is a total immersion into a world of characters, obsessively detailed and brightly colored. It’s like he’s saying, “Here, step into my brain for a moment.” The texture looks super smooth, maybe even printed, but that’s part of its disarming quality. It's not trying to be precious, or even particularly painterly. It’s more like a hyper-real cartoon, flat and glossy. I’m drawn to the flower-like faces; they are almost saccharine, but just on the edge of something darker. Each one is slightly different, like a crowd of individual personalities. It reminds me of Elizabeth Murray’s shaped canvases and comics, where the form itself is part of the story. But here, the overall effect is a kind of overwhelming joy mixed with a bit of manic energy. Art is always a conversation, right? Each piece, a new way of seeing.