TOKYO -- Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami says he faced one of the biggest setbacks of his life earlier this year while preparing to unveil a 10-meter gold-leaf sculpture marked with giant smiles.
"I wanted to die immediately after I woke up that time," Murakami, 58, told reporters last month, recalling the day in March when the coronavirus pandemic pushed his company to the edge of bankruptcy. In a reference to the just-released mega-hit anime film Demon Slayer, Murakami added that wanted he to stay in the dream of a demon forever.
