Takashi Murakami returns to Paris' Galerie Perrotin for his 14th solo show. Baka is on display now in the gallery's Salle de Bal, a showroom usually closed to the public and only viewable by appointment. The exhibition focuses on Mr. DOB, the iconic character he created in 1993, who appears in six new portraits, while a five-foot sculpture of Mr. DOB also stands in the middle of the room.
The design for Mr. DOB was inspired by several animated figures including Doraemon, Sonic and Mickey Mouse. His name is a diminutive of the expression dobojite, meaning “why” in Japanese slang.
The adjacent room features the debut of his Devil Ko2, another sculpture in his series of hyper-sexualized manga characters, alongside a photo he took in 2004 of a woman in a Devil Ko2 costume. Two additional pieces in his new Panda Flower Ball series reinterpret his signature flower motif.
Baka runs through December 21.