Showing: Takashi Murakami – “GYATEI²” @ Gagosian (Los Angeles)

GYATEI², a new solo show from Takashi Murakami, opened last month at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. The exhibition title comes from the Buddhist Hannya Shingyo (Heart Sutra), an incantation often chanted by Zen groups before or after a meditation and translates roughly to “gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, enlightenment, svāhā.” Eastern religions are only one of the many inspirations that the Japanese artist draws on, as can be evidenced by what has been included in this diverse body of work – examples include his signature DOB (a sharp-toothed Mickey Mouse–like character), large text scrawled across some painting like graffiti, and enormous 8 x 58′ painting with a repeating fish motif from a ceramic vase from Yuan Dynasty China that took him 15 years to complete.