Shinji Murakami

SHINJI MURAKAMI (b. 1980, Osaka, Japan)

Shinji Murakami’s work springboards from the philosophy of Gunpei Yokoi, the famous inventor of Nintendo’s Game Boy, Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology. Withered technology in this context refers to a mature technology that is cheap and well understood; while lateral thinking refers to finding of radical new ways of using such technology. Yokoi held that toys and games do not necessarily require cutting edge technology; novel and fun gameplay are more important. Murakami does not believe that profound human understanding has necessarily caught up to the explosive evolution of modern computer technology, but the pixelated expressions of 8-bit video games at the root of his work are one withered part of this evolutionary process. Murakami interrogates lateral thinking of this pixel.

Working in wood, alkyd paint and LED light, Murakami focuses on communicating his ideas to a wide audience. With the precision of a master craftsman, he renders universal motifs – flowers, puppies, hearts – in minimalism and pop, re-interpreting the aesthetics and context of each genre and reassessing their role within contemporary art. His practice is an ongoing search for simplification, removing more and more unnecessary elements and moving works into more ephemeral formats.

Artist Website

BORN 1980, OSAKA, JAPAN
LIVES AND WORKS IN BROOKLYN, NY

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

[Title TBD], Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Bucharest, Romania (forthcoming)

2023

Pizza Boy, Atelier 35 in collaboration with Catinca Tabacaru, Bucharest, Romania

2017

Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York

2016

};- <3 -;{, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York

2014

:), Tinca Art | Artion Gallery, New York

2004

snz exhibition, secobar, Tokyo
Final Quest, Graniph Gallery, Kyoto

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS AND SITE-SPECIFIC​ WORKS

2019

The Berry Eaters, Serlachius Museums, Mänttä, Finland

2017

Le Coeur (The Standard), Le Bain, The Standard, New York

2014

Jumbo Dumbo Puppy, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn

2012

Game Change, Telfair Museum, Savannah, USA

2011

Artists Rescue Team for Japan, Williamsburg Art & History Center, Brooklyn

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023

HAKKO X, Unknown Harajuku in collaboration with Shibuya Pixel Art, Tokyo, Japan

2021

Lucid Dreams, Arcilesi | Homberg, Brooklyn, New York
Pump and Dump, Arcilesi | Homberg, Brooklyn, New York

2010

The Berry Eaters, Catinca Tabacaru, CTG Harlem, New York

2019

ZWRT, Barbé-Urbain Gallery, Ghent, Belgium

2017

Terra Nova, CTG Collective, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, NY

2015

Animals & Imaginations, lorimoto, Brooklyn
The Spoon & Tamago Studio Visits, hpgrp Gallery, New York

2014

Gilded, Paul Kasmin, New York
Summer Garden, Onishi Project, New York
Divisionaire, JoAnne Artman Gallery, Laguna Beach, USA
Coming Out To Play, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York

2013

Ever Ours, Merrit School of Music, Beethoven Festival, Chicago, USA; curator: Catinca Tabacaru

2012

Playing the Game, O’Artoteca, Milan, Italy
Revolution, National Pastime Theater, Beethoven Festival, Chicago, USA; curator: Catinca Tabacaru
Citydrift, The Bogart Salon, Brooklyn

2011

We Are One, Camel Art Space, Brooklyn

2009

NYAB Turns One, Dumbo Arts Center, Brooklyn

2008

Geisai Museum #11, Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo

2003

F-Exhibition, Sign Gallery, Tokyo

RESIDENCIES

2019

CTG-R: Finland, CTG Collective in collaboration with the Serlachius Museum, Mänttä, Finland

PARTNERSHIPS

2017-Ongoing

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Salesforce.com, Global

2023

Back to the Classics, sequence MIYASHITA PARK in collaboration with Shibuya Pixel Art, Tokyo, Japan

2020

JR Shinjuku Station Project, East Japan Railway Company, Tokyo

2018

Out of this world, 5th Avenue Windows, Henri Bendel, New York

2017

The Nou Project, Saudi Arabia

2016

Salesforce.com, USA
Giorgio Armani Junior, Global Campaign
World Emoji Day, Pepsi Co., New York

2014

Collections, Paul Kasmin Shop, New York
Maison 54, New York

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA