From Winning Face Masks to Tea Time and a Tokyo Hotel Room, Artist Takashi Murakami Branches Out in Design
- February 22, 2021 13:10
Takashi Murakami's production studio Kaikai Kiki has long collaborated with brands from Louis Vuitton to Uniqlo, and the uber-popular Japanese artist's latest projects span from $70 face masks to a gallery-like hotel room experience for about $4,300.
A Grand Hyatt Tokyo hotel room is newly-bedecked this winter with 14 pieces of original art by Murakami in a special collaboration. An over 6-foot-tall golden Flower Parent and Child sculpture, along with the artist's iconic multi-colored Flower motif, adorn the entire suite, including the bathroom.
In addition, through June 1, guests in the Murakami project room can indulge in a flower-themed dinner, a flower box filled with sweets plus champagne, an autographed art book, and flower face masks and mugs to take home. For a limited time, the Grand Hyatt Tokyo is also offering a special Takashi Murakami Flower Strawberry Afternoon Tea and take-out treats for locals.
“When I started to travel around the world and stay at hotels, I noticed that there were always works of art exhibited at Hyatt hotels, starting in the entrance area and all the way into individual guestrooms," said the artist. "I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I see there is a need for art in this kind of context.’ It was different from the context of art with which I was working so I was fascinated. I wanted to try dipping into such a world, but I couldn’t find the entrance, and there was just no way in. So I am happy to have such a special opportunity to display my work in a hotel room, and make my long-held dream come true.”
Murakami's Flower print face mask designs have proved popular at a number of U.S. museum shops, including San Francisco's Asian Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. One single-flower style was recently seen on tennis star Naomi Osaka, the world's highest paid female athlete who is now a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton with her own fashion design plans, according to Vogue. Osaka, 23, won her fourth total Grand Slam singles title on Saturday.