Sunday, May 2, 2010

The J-Pop Art I Love


Art is subjective.
To me, an art piece is something personal... it must be inspiring and thought provoking. Most importantly, it must bring you joy when you look at it. Lately, I have been taking more notice to Japanese pop art, other than Takashi Murakami.

Hiro Ando's Robot Cat was a love at first sight for me and my partner. We first saw it at Opera Gallery in Singapore. However, it was in Hong Kong when we walked past the Opera Gallery, that we saw a black one that magnetised us to walk in to make an enquiry. Today, the black Robot Cat stands guard outside our walk-in closet.

Ando's techniques involve elaborating several basic sketches before painting on the canvas. He does art in various forms... oil, digital, as well as sculpture.


The black version of Robot Cat is in our apartment. I also checked out the other versions in the same series... Urban Cat and Samurai Cat.

I am also a fan of his paintings, which is a juxtaposition of anime and prominent Japanese landscapes, namely Roppongi.





A recent trip to Tokyo has also sparked off my love for Yoshitomo Nara. I have seen his work at several museums, but it was my recent visit to Mori Museum at Roppongi Hills in March this year that got me hooked on his entire collection of works.

I am a big fan (I'm sure I'm not alone) and love his illustrations of the little girl and the dog. My favourite is the girl in the cat suit, as I think my character is aloof like a cat and I look grouchy like the girl when I do not get to eat on time.


Below are his other works that I really adore, some of which are included in the postcard collection that I purchased at the Mori Art Museum store. Sometimes in life, you just want to say "damn it all".



To save the best for last, it has to be my all time favourite Takashi Murakami. I have amassed a small collection of memorabilia over my several visits to Tokyo. I love the fact that he makes his art available to the public, so everyone can have a piece of his creativity.

This is the book I bought at the Mori Museum store (I couldn't find it anywhere else). It is a collection of all his amazing prints.


These little badges are so cute, I had to buy them all....

This is a limited edition Takashi Murakami charm that I bought at the Roppongi LV boutique. Perfect to add a little individuality to my LV bags...
These cute little furry icons are what Murakami designed specially for Roppongi Hills. They just make me smile every time I look at them.




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