Kaikai Kiki Gallery is pleased to announce “Cast of Characters”, Futura’s first solo exhibition with our gallery, opening September 24, 2021.
First known as a pioneering force in the foundational era of graffiti and now regarded as one of the world’s most-exciting contemporary artists, Futura is humbled to be able to exhibit again in Tokyo: his unofficial second home that he respects so deeply. Since 2019, Futura has collaborated with Kaikai Kiki on a number of art fairs, group shows, and print productions—one in collaboration with Takashi Murakami. This time, we are proud to present his first solo exhibition of new works at Kaikai Kiki Gallery.
Whereas the majority of Futura’s work to date features dynamic abstract and geometric compositions, for this exhibition, Futura has produced new works that focus entirely on his universe of stylized characters. The progenitor of Futura’s character lexicon is the “Pointman”, a science fiction-inspired, otherworldly character. The Pointman serves as the artist’s metaphor for a way of existence that is forward-thinking, and explorative; quite literally a charge to be the point person in creative exploration.
Although Futura’s Pointman character was created in the early 1980s as an adjacent element to his celebrated abstract compositions on canvas, the figure garnered widened visibility on its own after it was featured on a series of album covers from the British record label Mo’ Wax. With its elongated head, protruding ears, pointed limbs, and glaring gaze, it left a powerful impression on those who collected these albums. Since then, the artist’s character ensemble has evolved to great reception, and has appeared not only on Futura’s canvases, but also in various collaboration projects with the likes of Comme des Garçons, Nike, and Off-White, among others. As such, Futura’s characters have become an iconic symbol not only in art—but also in the fields of fashion and design.
In “Cast of Characters” we will present a series of works that singularly celebrate Futura’s universe of various out-of-this-world beings. The exhibition will feature 12 works in total, which includes: a large 3-meter painting bustling with Futura’s characters, the artist’s first-ever character-shaped canvases, as well as hand-embellished collaborative AKARI lamps, made in official partnership with the Isamu Noguchi’s Foundation (available for the first time).
We hope you will enjoy Futura’s original characters and his singular touch on artworks. We look forward to welcoming you.
“Arigato Gozaimasu.” – Futura
Courtesy of Kaikai Kiki Gallery and Photo:KOZO TAKAYAMA and Futura ©