Takashi Murakami & Virgil Abloh, Arrows and Flower

UPPER LEVEL

Takashi Murakami & Virgil Abloh

Arrows and Flower is one of a series of collaborative works by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and fashion trailblazer, Virgil Abloh. The father of the Superflat art movement, Murakami is known for combining two-dimensional forms and vivid imagery, as represented in his emblematic smiling flower. Virgil Abloh, in turn, was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear, a visionary who upended the fashion industry. The four-point arrow is Abloh’s logo.
Rendered as a colorful neon sign, Arrows and Flower melds the artists’ very distinct trademarks and styles. Murakami’s rainbow-hued smiling flower is displayed in the center of the work, framed by Abloh’s signature arrows. While the flower anchors the piece, Abloh’s bold arrows–four pointing inward and four pointing out–infuse a sense of dynamic and continuous movement.
The result is a lively conversation regarding how collaboration can bring together even the seemingly disparate. As Abloh voiced it: "I like that collaborating is evidence of being human. This is what happens when you join two people that are similar but very different. Our works of art are born from that dialogue."
Arrows and Flower was exhibited in TECHNICOLOR 2 at Gagosian Paris as part of a body of work created by Murakami and Abloh.