Next Saturday, The Brooklyn Museum opens © MURAKAMI, a retrospective exhibition of more than 90 works by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Organized by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the show broke attendance records there and caused something of a tectonic shift in the relationship between art and commerce, with a Murakami retail outlet located among the gigantic sculptures and installations.

Installation at LA MOCA, with Takashi Murakami and his alter ego, Inochi, second from left. Photos by Eric Nakamura, used with permission.

The title of the exhibition offers a clue to the workings of Murakami's art-as-industry approach. Another clue is the artist's Long Island City art factory, Kaikai Kiki, where 40 staff artists work under his direction via instructions delivered each morning by email from his home in Osaka, Japan. Often referred to as Japan's Andy Warhol, Murakami has blurred distinctions between fine art and mass-produced products. In the oddly corporate atmosphere of his Queens outpost, art workers create large-scale paintings and sculptures that are sold in galleries for stratospheric prices; small, souvenir-like items; and designs for Louis Vuitton luxury leather goods.

The collaboration between Murakami and Louis Vuitton began in 2003 just after Marc Jacobs, the company's artistic director, had seen a Murakami exhibition in Paris. The artist brought an impish style to the traditionally brown monogrammed design, applying a high-key palette in 33 colors on a white or black background.

Yesterday, the Brooklyn Museum announced that a fully staffed Louis Vuitton store will be housed within the exhibition, selling the artist's new designs created specifically for this installation. Called "Monogramouflage" and signed by the artist, these limited edition pieces will be offered for the duration of the show. Then the line will be introduced in selected Louis Vuitton stores around the world. Until then, The Brooklyn Museum is the only place where fashionistas can get a jump on the pack.

While the new Murakami designs are being kept under tight wraps by Louis Vuitton before their debut next week, DART offers a sneak preview of some of the art in the exhibition through photographs from the gala opening at LA MOCA last October, courtesy of Eric Nakamura, co-founder of Giant Robot.

© MURAKAMI opens at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday, April 5 and runs through July 13. This is the last U.S. stop on the tour before it travels to Germany and Spain. Read more about Takashi Murakami's global art production in today's New York Sun.