Murakami's Oval Buddha

Takashi Murakami's monumental, platinum-clad Oval Buddha, 2007, will be exhibited in the 590 Sculpture Garden in Manhattan.

This exhibition is in conjunction with the presentation of a major retrospective of his work, Murakami, at the Brooklyn Museum from April 5 through July 13, 2008.

Because of its enormous scale, it is not possible for the 6,613 pound, 18 1/2 foot-tall sculpture to be included in the Brooklyn exhibition, but arrangements were made for the 590 Sculpture Garden presentation to coincide with this largest survey to date of the work of the internationally acclaimed Japanese artist.

The towering work depicts a Janus-faced Oval, one of the artist's signature characters, seated in a meditative lotus position.

Combining traditional Japanese techniques and imagery with several of Murakami's motifs, Oval Buddha reflects the artist's evolving body, mind, and spirit and his continuing exploration of his cultural, national, religious, and artistic reality.

First conceived in 1999 when Murakami was asked to create an iconic figure for a line of Issey Miyake t-shirts, the Oval character was subsequently utilized in a variety of different works.

Like many of the artist's other creatures, it has metamorphosed in many applications, culminating in Oval Buddha, which combines the artist's distinct iconography with traditional Buddhist motifs.