Shinji Murakami

Shinji Murakami
村上真司
Born1980 (age 45–46)
Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Known forSculpture, painting, augmented reality, installation
Movement8-bit art, new media art
Websitemurakamishinji.com

Shinji Murakami (Japanese: 村上真司, born 1980) is a Japanese contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for translating 8-bit video-game aesthetics into physical sculptures, paintings, LED works and augmented reality, often rendering flat pixel imagery using materials such as wood, acrylic and resin.[1][2][3]

Early life

Murakami was born in 1980 in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.[1][4] He began as a street artist in Tokyo in his twenties, and relocated to New York in 2009.[4][5]

Work

Murakami's work is inspired by 8-bit video game culture and draws on the design philosophy of Gunpei Yokoi, the inventor of Nintendo's Game Boy, known as "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology" — the idea of finding new uses for mature, inexpensive technology.[6][7] He is known for three-dimensional renderings of flat, 8-bit pixel imagery, working in materials such as wood, acrylic and LED panels.[1][8] Beginning in 2021 he produced original games for the Atari 2600 console and incorporated augmented reality into his paintings; he later used these games as source material for LED and sculptural works.[3]

Exhibitions

Murakami has been represented by Catinca Tabacaru Gallery since the gallery opened in 2014.[2] His solo exhibitions include 🌺🌷🌼❤️🐴✨🌈🌸🌹, an emoji-titled show at the gallery in New York (2016);[9][10] Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology at the same gallery (2017);[6] Pizza Boy at Atelier 35, Bucharest (2023);[11] and 2600 at NOWHERE, New York (2024).[3]

Public commissions and collections

Murakami has created site-specific ceramic-tile wall murals for Salesforce offices in cities worldwide, including San Francisco,[12] New York,[13] Tokyo,[14] Sydney,[15] Hyderabad,[16] Dublin,[17] and Chicago.[18] His 2012 work Chippewa Square, an acrylic-and-resin panel rendering the Savannah square in 8-bit form, is held in the permanent collection of the Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, a gift of the artist.[19]

Recognition

In 2011 Murakami was named in Modern Painters' "100 Artists to Watch" feature.[20] His work has been covered by publications including Vogue,[21] Juxtapoz,[22] Hyperallergic[6] and Artnet.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Shinji Murakami". Artsy. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  2. 1 2 "Artist Q&A with Shinji Murakami". Art Review City. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  3. 1 2 3 "8-Bit Hobbyist Shinji Murakami Celebrates Atari "2600" Aesthetic". HOLO. 2024. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  4. 1 2 "Shinji Murakami 特別インタビュー Part2". the PIXEL MAGAZINE (in Japanese). 2024. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  5. ↑ Redazione Digicult (2017-12-18). "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology – Shinji Murakami". Digicult. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  6. 1 2 3 "Your Concise New York Art Guide for Fall 2017". Hyperallergic. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  7. ↑ Jansson, Mathias (2010). "Back To The Square. Shinji Murakami And Neoarcadism". Digicult. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  8. ↑ "Shinji Murakami: A video game generation artist transforming ordinary life into 8-bit". PingMag. 2013-09-23. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  9. 1 2 "Art Events to See This Valentine's Day Weekend". Artnet News. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  10. ↑ "Pixels and Cuteness Form These Emoji-Inspired Sculptures". The Creators Project (Vice). 2016-02-12. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  11. ↑ "Pizza Boy". Revista Arta. 2024. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  12. ↑ "Salesforce Tower Ohana Floor". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  13. ↑ "Salesforce New York Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  14. ↑ "Salesforce Tokyo Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  15. ↑ "Salesforce Sydney Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  16. ↑ "Salesforce Hyderabad Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  17. ↑ "Salesforce Dublin Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  18. ↑ "Salesforce Chicago Hospitality Floors". Mark Cavagnero Associates. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  19. ↑ "Chippewa Square". Telfair Museums. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  20. ↑ "Modern Painters Presents 100 Artists to Watch". Artinfo. 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  21. ↑ "The Highlights of Art Basel". Vogue. 2014-12-05. Archived from the original on 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  22. ↑ "Shinji Murakami's Nip Slips". Juxtapoz. 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
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