Takashi Murakami & 'Juxtapoz' to Curate a Pop-Up Group Show in Seattle

The Seattle Art Fair descends on CenturyLink Field next month and, to coincide with the event, Pivot Art + Culture — Vulcan’s 3,000-square-foot flexible concept space — has tapped Takashi Murakami and renowned art mag Juxtapoz to curate a special pop-up exhibit. Dubbed “Juxtapoz x Superflat,” the exhibition is set to host work from over 23 artists and serve as “a survey of the most exciting visual artists to emerge in recent years, with a heavy emphasis on artists who operate outside of the central hubs of the global art world.” While Murakami chose Chiho Aoshima, Urs Fischer, Kazunori Hamana, James Jean, JH Kagaku, Friedrich Kunath, Kazumi Nakamura, Otani Workshop, Mark Ryden, David Shrigley, Katsuya Terada, a selection of works by Toilet Paper Magazine, Yuji Ueda, Yuji Ueno, He Xiang Yu, and Zoer & Velvet, Juxtapoz Editor-in-Chief Evan Pricco chose Trenton Doyle Hancock, Todd James, Austin Lee, Rebecca Morgan, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, Paco Pomet, Parra, Christian Rex van Minnen, Erin M. Riley, Devin Troy Strother, Sage Vaughn and Ben Venom. Said Pricco:

Over the past 22 years, Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine has documented the creative life through underground art and street culture. In recent years, with the increasing popularity of contemporary art, Juxtapoz has become the staple for accessible communication of emerging art forms, contemporary art, design, fashion, and graffiti. The magazine’s focus is a literal flattening of high and low cultures. In discussions with Takashi Murakami, Juxtapoz has curated a selection of artists covered in the magazine over the past two decades that encompass both growth and expansion in the sub-cultures they emerged from: skate, surf, graffiti, street art, comics, design, illustration, painting, and digital and traditional arts.

Murakami added:

It has now been 16 years since my original Superflat exhibition. At the time, I concentrated on Superflat as a phenomenon which had spread in Japan but since then, we have seen it take root all over the world and I felt it was time for a sequel. I have always been a fan of Juxtapoz — but especially since my co-curator on this show, Evan Pricco, took over editorial duties, I have felt a similarity in our approach and hoped that together we could create a true happening.

“Juxtapoz x Superflat” hits Pivot Art + Culture August 4 and will remain on display through August 7.

Pivot Art + Culture
609 Westlake Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
United States