If you know Takashi Murakami for his grinning flowers and Louis Vuitton collaborations, that's barely scratching the surface of the Japanese artist. This December, Sydneysiders get to dive headfirst into his kaleidoscopic universe. On Saturday, December 5, Sydney's Art Gallery of New South Wales will welcome When the Mountain is High, the Moon Rises Higher – Australia's first major retrospective of Murakami's works – curated by the Art Gallery's Senior Curator of Asian Art, Melanie Eastburn. The exhibition will bring together over 150 pieces spanning the artist's three-decade career. Most of them will be making their Australian debut. Known as the 'Andy Warhol of Japan', Murakami founded Superflat – a 2000s art movement defined by Japanese subcultures like manga and anime – and has been shaping the contemporary art world ever since. "Murakami has developed a style that is instantly recognisable and immensely engaging. This exhibition reveals the remarkable breadth of his imagination, which has made him one of the most influential artists of our time," Eastburn says. Expect paintings, sculptures, videos, and immersive installations that trace Murakami's innovations from the 1990s to his most recent works, most of which are making their Australian debut. Among them, a monumental temple-inspired installation created for the Art Gallery of New South Wales' underground Tank gallery. Keep an eye out for the five-metre-tall smiling figure standing guard at its entrance. You'll encounter a signature cast of playful anime-inspired characters across seven galleries in the Naala Badu building, including Kaikai and Kiki, alongside his first cartoon-like creation, Mr. DOB. But beneath the candy-coloured aesthetic, Murakami's work is rooted in his fascination with Japanese art history. On the evolution of Superflat, Murakami says: "It has already been 26 years since I introduced the concept of Superflat and set it in motion as the driving force behind my artistic practice. During the pandemic, an overly simplified interpretation of Superflat has become widespread: the idea that merely painting manga- or anime-style characters automatically makes something a work of art. Whether this is ultimately a good or bad development remains to be seen." Two immersive environments anchor the exhibition. One is a darkened gallery centred around a towering sculpture titled Hexagonal Double-Helix Tower, surrounded by four monumental paintings depicting Kyoto's guardian deities: the dragon, tiger, phoenix and tortoise. Elsewhere, a golden room with gilded walls and floors sets the scene for a parade of opulent artworks inspired by five centuries of Japanese art history. Murakami's penchant for bridging tradition and technology comes into focus through his reinterpretations of celebrated woodblock prints by Japanese artists Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, including a kawaii version of Hokusai's iconic The Great Wave and a take on Vincent van Gogh's homage to Hiroshige's 19th-century painting Plum Garden in Kameido. There's plenty to pore over in larger-than-life paintings too. Subtlety isn't the point here: the 25-metre-long Judgement Day is the largest display, created using thousands of silkscreens bursting with references to Edo-era woodblock prints. Other standouts include two AGNSW commissions: Japan Supernatural, which has joined the museum's permanent collection; and one splashed across a digital 20-metre screen. The latter is a moving piece that shifts through seasons and times of day. After dark, the moon rises over the mountain. Takashi Murakami: When the Mountain is High, the Moon Rises Higher will run from Saturday, 5 December 2026–Sunday, 18 July 2027. Tickets are now on sale. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Images supplied.