Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce Those that Bring Color to Life and Living, an exhibition of new works by pioneering Japanese artist Mr., marking the artist’s debut solo presentation in the United Kingdom. Across a new body of work including painting, sculpture, and works on paper, the exhibition harnesses the Japanese aesthetics of anime (presented with motion and sound) and manga (presented in a print medium) as a means of examining Japanese culture, fusing high and low forms of contemporary expression. The works on view continue Mr.’s longstanding interest in the circulation of popular imagery and its role in fantastical or escapist world-building that stems from postwar Japanese youth subculture. Those that Bring Color to Life and Living will be the second gallery exhibition to take place at Lehmann Maupin’s temporary location at No.9 Cork Street, in the heart of London’s Mayfair neighborhood.

A former protégé of Takashi Murakami, the artist is well known for his associations with Superflat, a contemporary postmodern Japanese movement pioneered by Murakami that draws inspiration from the compressed treatment of space and bold planes of color that appear throughout Japanese art and culture—from 19th-century ukiyo-e prints, to pop art, to anime and manga. Mr.’s participation in the 2000 traveling exhibition Superflat (organized by Murakami) played a crucial role in earning him international attention and recognition.