SF Artist Duser Pays Homage to Murakami by Answering Anxiety with Hope

Duser with one of the pieces he did in front of the Asian Art Museum. Photo by Power Quevedo

By Melissa Lane

When visual artist Ryan Stubbs, aka Duser, realized that a public art commission outside the Asian Art Museum through nonprofits Paint the Void and Civic Joy Fund coincided with the museum exhibiting one of his heroes, Takashi Murakami, he was thrilled. He seized the opportunity to create a joyful tribute that celebrates the Japanese artist—and offers a different take on the themes explored in the exhibit.

The museum describes Murakami’s first San Francisco solo show, “Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People—Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego,” as a reflection of “digital age anxieties,” exploring how “the virtual world has altered our relationship to art and society.” Jay Xu, The Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum, explains: “Many of these unique artworks were created during—and in response to—the recent pandemic when people retreated behind their screens and many of our interactions became virtual.”

Whereas the anime-influenced Murakami delves into the isolation and psychic impact of being sequestered at home, Stubbs addresses that malaise by breathing life back into public spaces with his upbeat, vibrant style: “Art on the streets brings life and hope to the public,” he says.

Stubbs, who has been doing graffiti since 1984, was attending NYU in 1994 when Murakami participated in P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center’s International Studio Program. “His work was a big influence on me,” recalls Stubbs, who describes the evolution of his own pop art-leaning street style as “figurative, colorful, character-based, kind of dark and heavy on concept” until 2018 when he began to trust himself more and shifted toward an abstract style. On this latest series, he says, “With these pieces, I began with a basic pencil sketch, but it didn’t translate on the utility boxes, so I just freestyled.”

Duser in action. Photo by Power Quevedo

Stubbs’s San Francisco commissions began in 1996. Within a few months of arriving to attend the San Francisco Art Institute, his art could be seen on the ceiling of Nob Hill vintage clothing store My Boyfriend’s Closet as well as throughout the city. More recently, during the pandemic when Paint the Void engaged him and others to paint boarded up businesses, his murals took on a new dimension of purpose: uplifting a city struggling under the weight of lockdown restrictions. A city, he points out, that was “already ravaged by tech, poor governing, homelessness, crime and negative media portrayal.” His bold, colorful hearts drew national coverage from ABC News, and offered a spark of positivity in an otherwise grim landscape.

With his new utility box series, he endeavors to inject optimism into prevailing narratives of doom and gloom once again. His kaleidoscopic bursts of blues, greens and purple set against the drab concrete of the Tenderloin still visually tie his work to Murakami’s. But where the Japanese luminary blends frightening with fun, Stubbs offers undiluted positivity: “I hope to shift the focus back to what has always made this city special: culture, art, community and creativity.”

The “Murakami: Monsterized” exhibition is on view at the Asian Art Museum through February 12, 2024. Stubbs’s art can be seen flanking the backside of the Asian Art Museum on Hyde Street through March, 2024, as well as on utility boxes throughout the city.