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Murakami sculpture at Ego (2011) press conference, via QMA facebook

The Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) presents Murakami – Ego at the Museum of Islamic Art‘s detached Al Riwaq hall in Doha as Japanese artist Takashi Murakami‘s first solo show in the Middle East. Introducing Japanese contemporary art and animation style to a broader audience, the QMA has also published an illustrated catalog on Ego with commentary by Takashi Murakami, curator Massimiliano Gioni, and photo-documentation of the site. For Ego—referencing the retrospective’s psychological emphasis—Murakami designed sculptural pedestals, a 100-meter wall painting, and a digital animated circus tent to double as an indoor cinema. The retrospective features fifteen years’ worth of 60 works, most of which are on loan from both public and private international collections, although some art is new. Viewers entering the hall are greeted by an oversize inflatable self-portrait to personify the explained internal mindset.

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