Takashi Murakami: Tranquility of the Heart, Torment of the Flesh - Open Wide the Eye of the Heart, and Nothing is Invisible

Takashi Murakami: Tranquility of the Heart, Torment of the Flesh - Open Wide the Eye of the Heart, and Nothing is Invisible at Gagosian Gallery in New York. "...Departing from his well-known utopian and dystopian themes – which feature masses of smiling flowers, elaborate scenes of toonish apocalypse, and the ever-morphing cult figures of DOB and Mr. Pointy – Murakami surprises here with a group of monumental portraits of Daruma, the grand patriarch of Zen art. Daruma was an Indian sage who lived during the fifth or sixth century A.D., the founder of Zen Buddhism. Legend has it that he attained enlightenment after sitting in meditation before the wall of the Shaolin monastery for nine years, without blinking his eyes. During this process, his arms and legs atrophied, withered and fell off. In today's Japan, Daruma's continuing popularity as the embodiment of resilience and determination has given rise to an entire industry of good luck charms in the form of armless, legless and eyeless dolls, available in endless variations."