Overview

Sweet yet sinister, Nara's paintings of children and animals are beloved the world over for their punchy iconography and punk-rock spirit This definitive monograph spans 40 years, from 1984 to the present day, in the career of the iconic artist, shedding light on Nara’s conceptual process through paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and installations that reflect his empathetic vision of the world around him. Published in conjunction with the epochal exhibition at Museo Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, this eponymous monograph divides Nara’s oeuvre into three chronological periods, beginning with his first artworks created in Japan in the 1980s, in which recurring elements of his personal history appear, such as his family’s house and childlike figures, developed under the influence of artists such as Takeshi Motai. The volume then highlights the artist’s fruitful stay in Germany, where Nara reacted to the isolation imposed by the language barrier while he studied and discovered German Expressionism with A.R. Penck at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and introduced in his production the central characters that would soon be recognized as part of his signature language. Finally, the monograph closes by exploring the work Nara produced after his return to Japan in 2000, presenting an essential selection of his late paintings, drawings, installations and sculptures. Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959) is one of the best-known Japanese artists of his generation; his characteristic portraits of adorable, enigmatic or threatening childlike figures have become revered icons with potent social implications. Nara creates traditionally crafted art rooted in his childhood and personal history; underground punk, folk and rock music; literature and nature, as well as European and Japanese art history.

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Nara grew up during Japan’s economic miracle; his parents worked long hours, leaving him in long periods of isolation. That adolescence, the later stagnation of the economy, as well as the shadow of the atomic bomb — reawakened by the Fukushima disaster in 2011 — underpin Nara’s oeuvre. -- Ela Bittencourt * Hyperallergic * At once saccharine, tense, and surreal -- Louisa Elderton * Artnet * It’s his raw portrayal of the human condition – beautiful, frail and, at times, bewildering—that renders his creations so hypnotizing. -- Sofia De La Cruz * Wallpaper* * Rooted in childhood memories, a love for music and literature, and enriched by his travels, Nara’s creations ooze humanism. -- Keith Estiler * Hypebeast *

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