Mr.

(Japanese, born 1969)

Mr. is a Japanese painter and installation artist associated with the “Superflat” movement pioneered by Takashi Murakami. Mr.’s work similarly employs the visual language of otaku, the Japanese subculture centered on adolescence, manga, anime, and video games, to examine high and low forms of contemporary expression. Born Masakatsu Iwamoto in 1969 in Cupa, Japan, he graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Sokei Art School in Tokyo in 1996. His early work drew inspiration from the 1960s Italian Arte Povera movement as well as Japanese and English pop culture. Prior to 2010, Mr. often portrayed young girls as hypersexual, “lolicon” figures in his work, a convention commonly employed in anime. In the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and nuclear meltdown in Tohoku, Japan, the artist returned to the gritty, abstract painting style he first practiced, exploring themes of destruction. In his 2012 exhibition at Lehmann Maupin, and his 2015 show at the Seattle Art Museum, Mr. invited viewers to interact with his installation art comprised of soiled everyday objects, a psychological concept he brings to his paintings through trampling, tearing, and burning his canvases. Mr. has collaborated with the Supreme clothing brand and has exhibited with Rei Sato, Chiho Aoshuma, and Aya Takano. His work can be found in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Daegu Art Museum, South Korea, among others.

Mr. Artworks

Mr. (898 results)
And then it's Kobe, 2003

Mr.

And then it's Kobe, 2003

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

You, me and the Japan Sea, 2003

Mr.

You, me and the Japan Sea, 2003

Sale Date: October 6, 2009

Auction Closed

The boy who came to Ikebukuro/ It's still a..., 2008

Mr.

The boy who came to Ikebukuro/ It's still a..., 2008

Sale Date: September 11, 2009

Auction Closed

The boy who came to Ikebukuro/It's still a..., 2008

Mr.

The boy who came to Ikebukuro/It's still a..., 2008

Sale Date: July 24, 2009

Auction Closed

Haila, 2000

Mr.

Haila, 2000

Sale Date: June 29, 2009

Auction Closed

Oedo kunoichi ninpocho (in 161 parts), 1997–1999

Mr.

Oedo kunoichi ninpocho (in 161 parts), 1997–1999

Sale Date: June 29, 2009

Auction Closed

It's still a young team/Starting over/Don't..., 2008

Mr.

It's still a young team/Starting over/Don't..., 2008

Sale Date: June 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Okonomiyaki-Chan no.4 (+ Golympic-Chan..., 2004

Mr.

Okonomiyaki-Chan no.4 (+ Golympic-Chan..., 2004

Sale Date: May 15, 2009

Auction Closed

Starting over (+ 5 others; 6 works), 2008

Mr.

Starting over (+ 5 others; 6 works), 2008

Sale Date: May 15, 2009

Auction Closed

V, 2005–2006

Mr.

V, 2005–2006

Sale Date: April 29, 2009

Auction Closed

Making Things Right (+ V, 2006; 2 works), 2007

Mr.

Making Things Right (+ V, 2006; 2 works), 2007

Sale Date: April 25, 2009

Auction Closed

Work, 2003

Mr.

Work, 2003

Sale Date: April 4, 2009

Auction Closed

Ohu-Ou, 2004

Mr.

Ohu-Ou, 2004

Sale Date: March 9, 2009

Auction Closed

Hamazakibashi Junction (collab w/ Cer), 2001

Mr.

Hamazakibashi Junction (collab w/ Cer), 2001

Sale Date: February 13, 2009

Auction Closed

MR. Michael Jackson is coming, 2000

Mr.

MR. Michael Jackson is coming, 2000

Sale Date: February 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Shall we dong salmon, 2005

Mr.

Shall we dong salmon, 2005

Sale Date: December 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2005

Mr.

Untitled, 2005

Sale Date: December 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Starting over (+ 5 others, various sizes; 6..., 2008

Mr.

Starting over (+ 5 others, various sizes; 6..., 2008

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

V (+ Making things right; 2 works), 2006–2007

Mr.

V (+ Making things right; 2 works), 2006–2007

Sale Date: November 23, 2008

Auction Closed

It's still a young team/Starting over/A boy..., 2008

Mr.

It's still a young team/Starting over/A boy..., 2008

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Making things right/You girls/Don't go..., 2007–2008

Mr.

Making things right/You girls/Don't go..., 2007–2008

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Peepoco-Chan, Pelipee-Chan, Honyane-Chan,..., 2004

Mr.

Peepoco-Chan, Pelipee-Chan, Honyane-Chan,..., 2004

Sale Date: November 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohu-Ou, 2004

Mr.

Ohu-Ou, 2004

Sale Date: November 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Edo castle, 1997

Mr.

Edo castle, 1997

Sale Date: November 25, 2008

Auction Closed