Takashi Murakami. We still wonder why it took us so long to post about him. Even if we usually choose unexpected artists, the ones you don't read much about, we had to make an exception for Murakami.

From "My Lonesome Cowboy" (1998), an anime-inspired sculpture of a masturbating boy, sold for $15.2 million at Sotheby's, to the exhibit of his works at the Palace of Versailles in France in 2010, Takashi Murakami is always creative, surprising...

Here are a few lines from his bio on Wikipedia:

He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art. He coined the term superflat, which describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society. Superflat is also used as a moniker to describe Murakami’s own artistic style and that of other Japanese artists he has influenced.

 If you live in Paris, don't miss the exhibition: Takashi Murakami "Homage to Yves Klein" at the Galerie Perrotin (10, impasse Saint Claude, 75 003 Paris). It ends on January 7, 2012. We have seen it and it's fantastic!