TAKASHI Murakami is known for blending pop art and Asian fine arts, but he is moving into the metaverse for his latest exhibition in New York.

At the An Arrow through History show that opened at Manhattan’s Gagosian Gallery this week, Murakami builds bridges from traditional fine arts to Japanese pop art to buzzy NFTs – digital tokens that represent original artwork.

Murakami said he is concerned that younger generations are screen-obsessed and “do not understand the history of contemporary art”.

“They can enjoy very few things, but with the plus of augmented reality, maybe young people can open their eyes more and step into the contemporary art scene,” said the 60-year-old artist.

Of late, athletes, artists, celebrities and tech stars have been hawking NFTs, which use the same blockchain technology as cryptocurrencies.

“When I work on a creative production, I make no distinction between analogue and digital,” said Murakami in a statement from Gagosian.

“I am always working in the context of contemporary art, and that context is all about whether I can be involved in events that manage to trigger a cognitive revolution.”

‘Into the metaverse’

In one piece, Murakami painted thick canvases and wooden structures the blue and white patterns of fish, inspired by Chinese porcelain vases dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Using Snapchat and an augmented reality filter, visitors can be immersed in the exhibition room via their phones, standing among digital images of fish that swim among the physically real works of art.

“Japanese culture originally came from the Eurasian continent, and my concept has been to go beyond there into the metaverse, shooting through the history of art with a single arrow,” said Murakami in the statement.

The metaverse is an immersive virtual reality, which is accessible with augmented or virtual reality glasses, and is a concept that has experienced a boost in recent years.

Stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, Murakami said: “I was watching the reality in my house, so that was a very monumental moment.”

“For us, it was getting super stressful every day, we could not go outside,” he added – but his kids could enjoy VR.

“That meant I had to change the mind to fit in with the next generation of my kids.

“This is my first answer – the show.”

Murakami is also set to open a special exhibition at The Broad contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, titled Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, which will include immersive environments and run from May 21 to September 25. – AFP, May 13, 2022.