TAKASHI MURAKAMI BLENDS JAPANESE ART WITH POP CULTURE IN HIS LATEST COLLAB WITH LOUIS VUITTON

Associate partner of Art Basel Paris 2025 for the third consecutive year, Louis Vuitton will unveil the Artycapucines VII Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collection, almost 20 years after the first collection that combined the Japanese artist's whimsical world with the house's exceptional savoir-faire. Art Basel Paris 2025 is slated from Oct. 24 to 26.

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To mark the occasion, Takashi Murakami has curated a unique installation which will be presented on the majestic Balcon d'Honneur at the Grand Palais.

Highlight of this edition of Art Basel Paris is an eight-meter-high sculpture of an octopus, inspired by Chinese lanterns, whose tentacles will take over the exhibition space.

At the threshold of this sprawling arch, exclusive scenography sketches by the artist will accompany visitors as they enter the vibrant world of Takashi Murakami. This monumental and vibrant piece has been custom-made for the space, which also features carpeting with the same tentacle motifs for the exhibition.

The octopus's luminescent head will showcase Murakami's iconic Superflat Jellyfish Eyes pattern, which entered Murakami's visual language as early as 2001.

Drawing on the artist's childhood, this motif evokes the fear of being watched, while giving it a whimsical form that softens its frightening nature.

The Kraken motif, meanwhile, has been dear to Murakami since the creation of The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg (2017).

While inspired by myths of disappearance and engulfment, Murakami consistently transforms these universal fears into playful, almost joyful forms.

The 11 creations from the Artycapucines VII — Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collection will be displayed within his tentacles, designed in dialogue with his signature characters and motifs, from Mr. DOB to the Superflat Panda, including the iconic Smiling Flowers.

The collection will unfold around three Plush Balls, spherical works that Murakami has been developing since 1995. Originally inspired by the trompe-l’œil effect in Maurits Cornelis Escher’s lithograph Hand with Reflecting Sphere (1935), the Plush Balls are three-dimensional plush sculptures that immerse us in a kaleidoscopic vision.