By Ingrid Luquet-Gad

The scenario is worthy of a science-fiction film: Sitting perched on the Balcon d’Honneur of the Grand Palais, a monumental, 8-meter-tall creature welcomes visitors to the space. More precisely, it is an octopus, its tentacles stretched out, feeling their way through the aisles. The colorful animal has not come alone though. It has invited his companions: flowers, pandas, mushrooms, and dragons frolic nearby. From the balcony to the floor below, the entire space has been transformed into a psychedelic garden created by Takashi Murakami.

This monumental installation by the Japanese artist is part of the fourth edition of Art Basel Paris and marks the third consecutive year that Louis Vuitton has been an Associate Partner of the fair.

For this year’s edition, Murakami has collaborated with the Maison to create a new and tailor-made artistic proposal at the Grand Palais. The Artycapucines VII – Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collection, brings together the motifs and cartoonish characters of the two-dimensional and vibrant aesthetic Murakami founded and named Superflat. Born in 1962, Murakami conceived of and then popularized the movement as a specifically Japanese response to American Pop Art.  Shaped by the culture of manga and his study of painting – he received his PhD in 1993 – from the early 1990s the artist made a name for himself by garnering both the recognition of renowned museums and the devotion of fans. Over the course of his career, he has foreshadowed a number of trends in the art world: refusing to make a distinction between high art and pop culture, engaging with cultural globalization, and promoting the role of the artist as an entrepreneur.

At the Grand Palais, Artycapucines VII – Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami is a collection of 11 handbags, the latest pieces to result from the artist’s prolific collaboration with the heritage label – arranged by Murakami among the tentacles of the marine creature that he has made his mascot.

Louis Vuitton has played a leading role in the artist’s career, the genesis of their collaboration dating back to 2002 when Murakami was contacted by Marc Jacobs, the maison’s artistic director at the time. Jacobs suggested that he reinterpret the House’s Monogram canvas, with 33 colors. The iconic Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collection was launched the following year and the collaboration lasted until 2015.

This partnership not only made Murakami a household name, it also marked a turning point in the history of contemporary art. The company the artist had founded in the mid-1990s had already turned the norms of artistic production and distribution upside down: in 1995, he established the Hiropon Factory studio, which became Kaikai Kiki Co. in 2001, through which he supported the work of young artists and marketed its associated products. The artistic collaboration with Louis Vuitton marked a new pivotal step in his career. His 2007 solo exhibition ‘©Murakami’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA) sparked heated debate. Was it art or fashion retail? Among the kawaii fiberglass sculptures and the walls covered with a thousand eyes, Murakami set up a luxury boutique. The pop-up store, fully functional, presented Louis Vuitton x Murakami leather goods for sale.

Throughout his career, Murakami has declared an admiration for Andy Warhol, however his practice has not only been influenced by American as well as Japanese aesthetics but also the French artistic tradition. In his work, Murakami often refers to Japonisme, and elements of this late-19th-century craze for the decorative arts and traditions of the Land of the Rising Sun can be found in the work of the French Impressionists, notably Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet. Murakami recently returned to these exchanges in a series of exhibitions exploring artistic reappropriation, including in a show held at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art.

Unsurprisingly, the artist’s connection to France can be seen throughout much of his career. One only has to think of the exhibition ‘MURAKAMI VERSAILLES’ at the Palace of Versailles in 2010, which caused a great stir, his talent for marrying sophistication and elegance on full show, in a setting synonymous with Age of Enlightenment refinement.

Today, Artycapucines VII – Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami leaves no doubt about the stature of this master. His work is now included in the collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Such has been the success of the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collaboration that it has led the maison to work with a whole host of other major contemporary artists: Sol LeWitt, James Rosenquist, Richard Prince, César, and Yayoi Kusama. The first chapter of the new collaboration was presented at Art Basel Hong Kong in March this year.

Under the magnificent glass roof of the Grand Palais, the encounter with Murakami’s creatures produces the same excitement for everyone. As electrifying for his faithful followers as for his new fans, the works that grew from the kaleidoscopic imagination of the Japanese artist will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.