ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
6 DTLA ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE by Art Hunter
VOL 17. NO. 01 - JUN 9TH - JUN 15TH 2022 WWW.DTLAWEEKLY.COM
TASHAKI SKY HIGH MURAK AMI MURALISTS AT BROAD EXHIBIT OPENS AT US BANK TOWER
In March, 15 LAbased street and urban artists painted the top floor of the iconic US Bank Tower, creating the highest murals in the state of California. After months of anticipation the Opening night of Sky High DTLA at US Bank Tower has arrived. On June 8th invitees toured the 72nd floor to enjoy the urban art installation as well as speak with the artists in residence about their work honoring the theme, “What does LA mean to you?” The premiere was part of Silverstein Properties’ new initiative to transform the US Bank Tower and surrounding district into a vibrant cultural center for the downtown Los Angeles community. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were catered by Settecento, the recently-announced restaurant by Global Dining Inc. which will open in Maguire Gardens adjacent to the US Bank Tower in early 2023.
Takashi Murakami is one of the most widely recognized artists working today. His body of work traverses fine art, fashion, animation, film, and other commercial art. Murakami’s expansive artistic universe is on view in Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, the artist’s first solo exhibition at The Broad. Artists include Beau Stanton, Casey Courey Pickering, Debi Cable, Savannah "Elekktra" Gallegos, Elliott 'Nes" Klein, Haus of Emichi, Lauren YS, LOVE Crew, Alejandro "Man One" Poli, Mary Lai, Angel "Mister Alek" Guznay, Nora Martin Hall, Paloma Arciniega, Quentin Thomas, Sophie Mazzaro, Erin Michelle and Jayson Valencia.
The exhibition, which includes all of Murakami’s works in the Broad collection and key loans, features 18 works created throughout his career and new immersive environments developed in tandem with the artist and his studio, Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. In these works, spanning sculpture, painting, wallpaper, and immersive installations, the artist explores subject matter such as globalization, postwar Japan, pop culture, and religious iconography. Among the works presented are two of the artist’s monumental paintings, the 32-footwide 100 Arhats (2013) and the 82-footwide In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow (2014), and the 1999 sculpture DOB in the Strange Forest (Blue DOB) that features Murakami’s iconic anime-inspired character Mr. DOB.
