"Miss Ko2-Nurse" (2004) is a rare and exciting chromogenic color print by Takashi Murakami that is part of the artist's "Miss Ko2 Project," in which the artist turns real-life models into anime-based art. In the present work, a woman dressed as a nurse with syringe in hand is portrayed with elongated legs and exaggerated features. Her overt sex appeal fuses stereotypes of Japanese culture with the iconography of anime, distilling Murakami's iconic style in a single image.

Takashi Murakami (b. 1963) is a prolific contemporary Japanese artist who works in both fine arts media, such as painting, and digital and commercial media. Classically trained in the “Nihon-ga” style, Murakami blends traditional Japanese painting with contemporary pop culture. Often pushing the boundaries between what is considered high and low art, Murakami incorporates popular themes from pop culture, media, and cartoon animation into his work, which ranges from his "Superflat" paintings to enormous sculptures. This artistic strategy, combined with his founding of Kaikai Kiki Co., an art production firm with an ethos similar to Warhol’s Factory, has earned Murakami a reputation as the most prominent Pop artist working today. Murakami also brands his own art to create marketable commercial goods, including figurines, apparel, and even key chains. He has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (2001); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan (2001); Serpentine Gallery, London, England (2002); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (2007); and the Château de Versailles, France (2010).
Selected Public Collections:
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA