Takashi Murakami developed the style known as "Superflat". Characterised by traditional Japanese art's lack of depth - the works are flat, ignoring Western perspective techniques - Superflat is two-dimensional and planar, drawing on styles common to contemporary anime and manga. superflat works exhibit values and concepts very different from those in Western art history. Murakami believes childishness, amateurism and the relatively small postwar income disparities in Japanese society have been sources of creativity in Japan's contemporary art scene. He is also known for his collaboration with luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton.
Hiroshi Senju
Painter Hiroshi Senju uses traditional Japanese techniques (blurring, gradation, blending) to portray the changing seasons as reflected in Japan”Ēs natural environment. His Waterfall series won the Venice Biennale Award of Excellence in 1995. In 2002 he completed a six-year project to paint 77 sliding panels for eight rooms in Daitokuji-Jukoin-Betsuin Temple in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto is known for works exploring natural light and the passage of time, such as Seascapes (images of sea horizons around the world) and Theaters (extremely long-exposure images captured by opening the camera's shutter as a movie begins and closing it as it ends). He has recently produced fusions of photography with collections of old fine art.
Yoshitomo Nara
Pop artist Yoshitomo Nara has been active mainly in Europe. Exploring the Japanese concept of kawaii (cute), his internationally acclaimed works enjoy an established reputation. He is known
for his idiosyncratic treatments of young girls with distinctive facial expressions highlighted by slanted eyes.
Copyright 2007 - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
