Azusa Murakami

Azusa Murakami
村上 あずさ
Murakami in 2014
EducationRoyal College of Art, University College London
OccupationsArtist, architect, company founder, designer
SpouseAlexander Groves
[edit on Wikidata]
Website
Murakami and Groves with Sendai-Tansu artisan (2024)

Azusa Murakami (Japanese: 村上 あずさ, romanized: Murakami Azusa; born 1984) is a Japanese architect, artist, and designer. She is the co-founder of art collectives Studio SWINE and A.A.Murakami.

Biography

Azusa Murakami was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1984.

She graduated from UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture in 2006 with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture. She subsequently attended and graduated from the Royal College of Art with a MA from the Design Products programme in 2010. She was a student of Jurgen Bey [nl] and Tord Boontje.

In 2011 she founded the art collective Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers (Studio SWINE) with her husband and partner Alexander Groves. Working together as both SWINE and A.A.Murakami, the duo have created works such as New Spring, Meteorite Shoes, Metropolis I, Sea Chair, and the Humble Administrator’s Chair and Table. Murakami has collaborated with companies such as Swedish brand COS, the BMW group, and participated in the Craft x Tech initiative's Tohoku Project..

Her work is held in private and public collections including the Design Museum Gent, the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), as well as having been exhibited by other institutions. She was also included in the What is Luxury? exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum and participated in the 56th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition.

Murakami has been recognised with awards from the Cannes Film Festival, Designers of the Future (Swarovski), and Wallpaper* magazine.

She has spoken at Design Indaba, and participated as a member of the jury for the 2019 Dezeen Design Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 Gopnik, Blake (11 December 2020). "The Mixed Message of Earth-Friendly Design". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Roux, Caroline (2017-12-01). "Studio Swine: art world bubbles". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  3. 1 2 "Working in Design Abroad: A Field Expanding to the Ends of the Earth｜松本優真／行政・建築・都市・デザイン分野の書籍企画・編集". note（ノート） (in Japanese). 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  4. ↑ "Azusa Murakami". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  5. ↑ Ray, Debika (2017-04-03). "Studio Swine: "If something can cross the line from being repulsive to desirable, then that is all the stronger"". ICON Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  6. ↑ "How Studio Swine Uses Technology to Bring Us Closer to Nature". Whitewall. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Studio Swine". Ala Champ. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  8. ↑ "Inside A.A.Murakami's Practice Built Around Impermanence and Engineering Wonder". Prestige Online. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Meteorite Shoes by Studio Swine". Frameweb. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  10. ↑ "Metropolis I". Official site. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  11. ↑ "Humble Administrator's". Official site. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  12. ↑ "Studio Swine's Experimental Design Changes Perceptions – and Tells Stories". Azure. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  13. ↑ "A New Spring in Milan with Studio Swine and COS". Cultured. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  14. ↑ "A.A.Murakami's new immersive art installation SYMBIOSIS premiers at Art Basel in Basel 2026". BMW. June 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  15. ↑ "Interview with Designer Studio SWINE". Craft x Tech. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  16. ↑ "Metropolis. I 仙台箪笥 x Studio SWINE". Craft x Tech (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  17. ↑ "Sea Chair No. 8 – Studio Swine & Kieren Jones". Design Museum Gent. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  18. ↑ "Azusa Murakami | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  19. ↑ "Floating World: A.A.Murakami (May 4–September 21, 2025)". Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  20. ↑ "Balloon Museum - A.A.Murakami". Balloon Museum (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  21. ↑ "Beyond the Horizon". Centre d'Art Santa Mònica. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  22. ↑ "Studio Swine on making sustainable design desirable". Design Indaba. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  23. ↑ "Azusa Murakami | Judges | Dezeen Awards". Dezeen. Retrieved 2025-11-24.