Takashi Murakami – Arhats (2016)

Arhats (2016)

Artist: Takashi Murakami
Title: Arhats
Year: 2016
Medium: Offset print with silver
Sheet Size: 68.0 × 68.0 cm (26 3/4 × 26 3/4 in)
Edition: 300 — signed and numbered
Type: Limited edition offset print with silver

Arhats (2016) is one of the most ambitious and culturally layered prints in Takashi Murakami's graphic catalogue — a large-format square composition that plunges into the deepest roots of Japanese Buddhist iconography with the chromatic energy and compositional density of his most complex studio works. The arhats — Buddhist disciples who have attained enlightenment and stand at the threshold of Nirvana — are depicted as grotesque, elongated figures in elaborate robes, their features distorted in the manner of Japanese raigo paintings and the caricatural Buddhist imagery of the Edo period. Between them, a central demonic child figure writhes and gesticulates, surrounded at the composition's base by an explosion of Murakami's signature colorful creatures — the skulls, the flowers, the goggle-eyed entities of his flat, PopSuperFlat universe.

The work is a characteristic Murakami collision: the sacred and the commercial, the historical and the contemporary, the serene and the grotesque, compressed into a single image that can be read simultaneously as Buddhist devotional art, Japanese woodblock tradition, and twenty-first century Pop — all three correct, none sufficient alone. The gold diamond-pattern ground — printed in silver here, creating a shimmer that shifts with the light — is drawn directly from the kinpeki (gold leaf) grounds of Japanese screen painting, anchoring the grotesque figures in a tradition of formal beauty that elevates and complicates them simultaneously.

The silver element — printed as a metallic layer over the offset base — adds a light-reactive dimension that animates the composition across different viewing conditions, the ground shifting from grey to white to near-gold depending on the angle of illumination. Produced in an edition of 300, signed and numbered by the artist. A significant and historically engaged work from one of Murakami's most culturally specific series.

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FAQ

Is this an original Takashi Murakami print?
Yes — an original offset print with silver, signed and numbered by the artist from an edition of 300.

What are Arhats in Buddhist tradition?
Arhats are Buddhist disciples who have achieved enlightenment — figures who stand at the threshold of Nirvana, venerated in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. In Japanese art history, arhat imagery has a rich tradition in temple painting and sculpture.

What is the silver element?
The silver is a metallic printing layer applied over the offset base, giving the diamond-pattern ground a light-reactive quality that shifts with viewing angle — referencing the gold leaf grounds of traditional Japanese screen and panel painting.

What is the edition size?
300 impressions — signed and numbered by Murakami.

Is the work framed?
Please contact us for framing options.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide, with museum-grade flat packaging for large-format works on paper, full insurance, and shipment tracking.

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