We should take great pride in Yoshitomo’s accomplishments during these precarious COVID-19 times we’re actually living in. Recently, four fantastic solo exhibitions @ LACMA, Kuandu Museum, dallas contemporary and Yuz Museum have been curated with great love and affection. Curator in Charge, Mika YOSHITAKE deserves the respect and gratitude of all of us.
As Yoshitomo attracts amazing, huge crowds all over the world, today I would like to give you a short, personal overview of his artistic practice.
Or, to be honest, of his ambiguous narrative, where solitude, day-dreaming, rock music, cigarettes and beer have always been his best friends.
Or, his yearning for “there is no place like home” (and the influence of ‘The Wizard of Oz’).
Or, recapitalising Yoshitomo’s sentimental memories of wanting to become a cool, Ramones-like, Punk Rocker in Japan.
Or, the catharsis of childhood traumas through paintings and drawings.
His words in English: “Through my childhood, I can see now”.
Screenshot from michinara3 instagram. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense
“Argentine Baba” 「アルゼンチンババア (ARGENTINE HAG)」is a novel written by YOSHIMOTO Banana in 2002. Illustrations by NARA Yoshitomo. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アルゼンチンババア
YOSHIMOTO Banana 吉本 ばなな by Mario A 亜 真里男
Please keep in mind, that even if I can call them “close buddies”, Yoshitomo has almost nothing to do with 村上隆 MURAKAMI Takashi’s DORAEMON ドラえもん, “Kawaii”, “Superflat”, “Otaku” or similar “Anime” stereotypes written by foreign critics’ BS about Japanese art. Hey, Jim Morrison’s smokin’.
Screenshot from fukuhen’s (Yoshio Suzuki) blog. Nara attending Murakami’s opening in Qatar “Murakami Ego” 2012. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense
Nowadays, instead of his original beat, his unique paintings are tremendously searched after amongst the collectors and museum curators. Let’s say it humbly: Yoshitomo can be called one of the hottest artists in the world.
I would hereby like to emphasise, that until last year, he rejected all offers from mainland China. We may imagine the reason why.
Through the “filters” of the galleries Blum & Poe and Pace from the U.S., plus Jakarta-born, Indonesian-Chinese entrepreneur Bud Tek engagements we may state that a retrospective can be finally appreciated in China for the very first time in history. Please note, that this museum is the private Yuz Museum 余德耀美术馆 in Shanghai, founded by Bud Tek, who unfortunately passed away this March. In 2018 it entered partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art via which the two institutions share artworks and team up on curatorial efforts.
Socio-political consciousness as attitude. Please listen to his recent interviews, taken in Dallas and Los Angeles, see below. After the partly human-made “Fukushima-Earthquake-Tsunami” catastrophe (which was almost ignored during Tokyo’s Olympiad 2020/2021), Yoshitomo helped out as a volunteer and pro-actively supported the anti-nuke movement in Japan.
Demonstration in front of the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office with “NO NUKES” by NARA Yoshitomo, March 11, 2018Mario A 亜 真里男 「国民の声＃2」 “People’s Voice #2” from “People’s Voice 3/11 ～” (2017) Mario A 亜 真里男 「国民の声＃3」 “People’s Voice #3” from “People’s Voice 3/11 ～” (2017) 2012/7/16 Soyanara NukesScreenshot from youtube. 2012/7/16 “Soyanara Nukes”
Bookstore: Mario A 亜 真里男 “The situation is under control” next to YOSHITOMO NARA SELF-SELECTED WORKS “WORKS ON PAPER” 奈良美智 自選集「ドローイング」
Thank “god” (aka Germans demonstrating and fighting for a fair social contract), Germany offers a free education system, where young Yoshitomo could study art, (whatever that means), in the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Without speaking German, plus, important to emphasise: without financial constraints, in contrast to the U.S.A. or Japan, he could blossom and mature as an artist.
His German mentor, painter A.R. Penck (professor from 1988–2003, passed away in 2017) was extremely crucial in nurturing Yoshitomo’s self-esteem. Like A.R., he could focus exclusively on the, somehow street-art-like, punky painterly process.
A.R. Penck, hab’ ihn selig & ein Glückwunschtrunk auf Deinen Schüler Yoshitomo!
Wir erzählen uns Geschichten, um zu leben, nicht wahr?
Wir beide werden bald 63! PROST!
in conversation: yoshitomo nara + pedro alonzo (Premiered Mar 21, 2021)
yoshitomo nara
i forgot their names and often can’t remember their faces but remember their voices well
dallas contemporary, Dallas
March 20 – August 22, 2021 https://www.dallascontemporary.org/yoshitomo-nara
“Virtual” (in the context of Covid-19) conversation between NARA Yoshitomo and Mika YOSHITAKE (Premiered Oct 12, 2020)
See also:
Link_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVuLK6aA6C8
Yoshitomo Nara – Part 3: No longer just a girl with a knife: Art after Fukushima | Art & Conversation (Feb 10, 2021)
Yoshitomo Nara
Yuz Museum, West Bund, Shanghai
March 5th – September 4th, 2022
Curator: Mika Yoshitake
“Yoshitomo Nara” is organized by Yuz Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art http://www.yuzmshanghai.org/yoshitomo-nara/?lang=en
FOREVER ALONENO ONE KNOWS
NO ONE KNOWS
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “for better or worse” 個展 solo show 2017 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, “I’m Sorry” 2007. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 105 x 70 cm, Samsung Museum of Art, Leeum, courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 1988. Watercolor, colored pencil and pen on paper, 21 x 20,5 cm. Private Collection (entrusted to Toyota Municipal Museum of Art)
(? Eirian = Alien ?)
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「今にも目からこぼれそうな涙のわけが言えません。」”I Couldn’t Say the Reason Why Tears Fall from the Eyes Now.” 1988. Pencil and colored pencil on paper, 29.5 x 21.0 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 1988. Acrylic, colored pencil, and pencil on paper, 29.5 x 21.0 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Romantic Catastrophe” 1988. Acrylic and coloured pencil on canvas, 116.7 x 90.9 cm. Private collection (entrusted to Toyota Municipal Museum of Art) 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ワン・ボーイ」”One Boy” 1988. Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas, 130.5 x 54.2 cm. Private collection. Inscribed upper part: DIE TRAUER/ DAS HAUS/ Peace; lower right: BOYS/ Cheap/ Thing; lower part: Boys, Boys/ It’s a cheap thing/ CHEAP THiNG奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「リトル・プリンス」”Little Prince” 1988. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 110 x 80 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「無題」 “Untitled” 1988. Colored pencil, acrylic on paper, 98.6 x 60.4 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo, left：「港のあの娘」(Girl at the Harbor)、right：「ゼロ戦の夢」(Dream of Zero Fighter Plane), both 1989. Watercolor, colored pencil and pen on paper, 20.5 x 14.5 cm, Aomori Museum of Art
up-date 2022/11/21 via Twitter:
加藤 K
@KATOK3
Replying to
@michinara3
僕のスケッチブックに描いてくれた奈良さんのドローイング、額に入れて大事にしています！！
Replying to @KATOK3 and @michinara3
このドローイングです！！
Untitled (?) work by NARA Yoshitomo, painted during his time in Nagoya around 1988/9?
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「Sleepless Night、先生の夢」”Sleepless Night, Dream of Teacher” 1989. Watercolor, colored pencil, and pencil on paper, 20.5 x 14.5 cm. Aomori Museum of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ヴィッキー」”Vicky” 1990. Acrylic on canvas, 24.5 x 24 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「無題」 “Untitled” 1990. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 68 x 48 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「花をあげよう」”Give You the Flower” 1990. Acrylic on canvas, 111 x 92 cm. Private Collection (entrusted to Toyota Municipal Museum of Art) 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「続いてゆく道に」”Make the Road, Follow the Road” 1990. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. Aomori Museum of ArtThe Wizard of Oz奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「パンドラの箱」”Pandora’s Box” 1990. Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 90 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Mein Kopf” 1991. Water color on paper, 63.5 x 49 cm. Private Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 1991 Acylic on window glass with wood frame. 107 x 92 x 5 cm. Signed and dated ‘Yoshitomo Nara ’91’. – Traces of studio and minor traces of age. (Sold @ Lempertz 2021/6/17 for 225.000 Euro 2千900万円) ここに載せた写真とスクリーンショットは、すべて「好意によりクリエーティブ・コモン・センス」の文脈で、日本美術史の記録の為に発表致します。Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photos: cccs courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 1991, back, 作品の裏側, signature, detail (screenshot from the website of Lempertz)
Yoshitomo Nara
“Untitled”
1991
Acylic on window glass with wood frame. 107 x 92 x 5 cm. Signed and dated ‘Yoshitomo Nara ’91’. – Traces of studio and minor traces of age.
(Text by Lempertz:)
In 1991, the year in which the work on offer was created, the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara was studying at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf under A.R. Penck. The influence of his teacher can be discerned in this early work which is reminiscent of a child’s drawing due to its highly simplified, sketch-like execution. It thus contrasts with Naras later paintings which are characterised by a smooth, flawless visual vocabulary.
The feeling of isolation that the young artist experienced, living in a foreign country for several years, and his confrontation with the unfamiliar environment are expressed in his art. In a nonverbal manner, he manages to give the viewer an insight into himself through his paintings and drawings, incorporating childhood memories and the visual vocabulary of Japanese children’s books. Even in his early works, he concentrates on isolated child figures who act in a kind of bubble without a defined environment. While these little protagonists are often characterised by emotions such as being lost, grief or anger, the present work conveys a feeling of optimism and insouciance.
Similar to the Manga comics of his Japanese homeland or street art, Nara repeatedly combines painting with elements of text. In this work, a window with a wooden frame that was adapted as an unconventional picture carrier, also evokes the rough character of street art. Nara’s use of text passages usually stem from rock or punk songs which he listens to during the artistic process. This music is a major source of inspiration for him; key issues such as rebellion and nonconformity are repeatedly found in his painting. In this case, however, he emphasises the pleasure of music and a positive basic attitude: ‘But nothing get[s] me down.’
Catalogue Raisonné
Yoshitomo Nara, The complete works, paintings, sculptures, editions, photographs, Vol. 1, San Francisco 2011, cat.rais. no. P-1991-016
Provenance Directly from the artist; private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate https://www.lempertz.com/en/catalogues/lot/1177-1/57-yoshitomo-nara.html
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “The Girl with the Knife in Her Hand” 1991. Acrylic on canvas, 150.5 x 140.0 cm. Collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, fractional and promised gift to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Lamp Flower Girl”「ランプ・フラワー・ガール」1993. Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 140 cm. Until 2013 KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 collection. Sold 2013 @ Sotheby’s. Photo taken in the Yokohama Museum of Art 2012.奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「地雷探知機」”Mine Detector” 1993. Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 100 cm. 高松市美術館寄託 / Entrusted to Takamatsu Art Museum奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Walk on I” 1993. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 75 cm Private Collection (entrusted to Toyota Municipal Museum of Art) From the catalogue of “NICAF Yokohama 1995” (Asia’s largest contemporary art festival), page 104. Gallery “Shiraishi Contemporary Art Inc.” 白石コンテンポラリーアート exhibited for the first time a work by NARA at an art fair. In 2013 this painting had been purchased by “The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo” 東京国立近代美術館. “Yoshitomo Nara/Harmless Kitty: 1994/150x140cm/acrylic on cotton 奈良美智/Harmless Kitty: 1994/150×140 cm/綿布にアクリル
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Harmless Kitty” 1994. 東京国立近代美術館 / The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Photo taken April 2014 in The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Harmless Kitty” 1994. Acrylic on cotton, 150 x 140 cm. 東京国立近代美術館 / The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Photo taken April 2014 in The National Museum of Modern Art, TokyoPhoto taken April 2014 in The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo奈良美智 NARA “Harmless Kitty” 1994. Acrylic on cotton, 150 x 140 cm, detail奈良美智 NARA “Harmless Kitty” 1994. Acrylic on cotton, 150 x 140 cm, detail奈良美智 NARA “Harmless Kitty” 1994. Acrylic on cotton, 150 x 140 cm, detail奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Harmless Kitty” 1994. Acrylic on cotton, 150 x 140 cm. 東京国立近代美術館 The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Photo taken 2017 @ 奈良美智 “for better or worse” 個展 solo show 2017, 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Artステラ・マッカートニーと奈良美智のコラボ, screenshot from Unisex’s Unisex website
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 1994. Acrylic on paper, 34.5 x 48.6 cm; frame: 45.6 x 59.6 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Dead Flower” 1994. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. Private Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「長い長い長い夜」 (The Longest Night) 1995. Acrylic on Canvas, 120 x 110 cm. The National Museum of Art, OsakaNARA Yoshitomo solo show 奈良美智個展 展示風景 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017, courtesy creative common senseExplaining the work “The Longest Night”. Pics from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles.
NO ONE KNOWS
The Longest Night 1987 (Bee Gees)
We don’t talk about it, we got no doubt
We can love each other when the lights go out
I got nobody, my bird has flown
Anyone can see I’m walking alone, walking alone
In your quiet moments, in your silent prayer
I’ll be with you baby, I’ll be there
In your darkest hour, on your longest night
I’ll be with you baby, make it right
On your longest night
You know it breaks my heart and it hurts my pride
To know I lost you to the world outside
Feelings when you touch me, they rise and fall
Try to live without it, ain’t no love at all
We don’t talk about it but somebody knows
We can love each other when the candle glows
Open my eyes and the moment is gone
Anyone can see I’m walking alone, walking alone
In your darkest hour, on your longest night
I’ll be with you baby, make it right
Nobody cries, nobody cries, cries
For the pain I feel
Nobody knows, nobody knows
And it makes me wanna die
In your quiet moments, in your silent prayer
I’ll be with you baby, I’ll be there
In your darkest hour, on your longest night
I’ll be with you baby, make it right
On your longest night
Oh baby, so in love with you
It could be your longest night
Gonna be here all night, standing all night
Be your longest night
Gonna be here all night, standing all night, tonight
First solo show in America, L.A. 1995. Let’s try to figure out, what kind of personal catharsis Yoshitomo experienced in the young, very small gallery Blum & Poe, in which the exhibition “Pacific Babies” as a cognitive component gains new psychological insights.
Quotes from the interview in:
The Fundamental Emotions All Humans Possess
September 30, 2021
Tim Blum: When I walked into SCAI The Bathhouse, I remember very vividly one painting that they had leaning on the wall. It was of one of his figures, in a yellow bathtub with blue water, and he—it felt like the figure was a he—was wearing a red, hooded jumpsuit with two instruments in his hands. It was a small painting, probably around 24 x 20 inches, but I was immediately drawn to it. That was my first experience with the work in person, and it has not changed since. The whole experience with Nara is a subconscious, physical experience that I believe relates to one’s own personal story and narrative. Something about his work can universally tap into that part of a person, so your first attraction to the work is not to look at it as a painting in the traditional sense, but you have a more visceral reaction. When I lived in Japan, I learned to trust my instincts, and with Nara’s work I had that feeling right away. We did our first show in Los Angeles in 1995.
Interviewer: What was the first exhibition at Blum & Poe like, as well as Nara’s first experience in Los Angeles?
Yoshitomo Nara: Blum & Poe is now a big gallery in California, but at first, they were in a tiny space— like five meters by five meters. Tim had seen my show at SCAI The Bathhouse, and he reached out to me. He saw something in me that wasn’t limited to Japan, something international that went beyond words, and wanted to do something with me. So that first show in America was titled Pacific Babies because I went over the Pacific Ocean. I think that’s where my history as an artist, as perceived by everyone else, started. For the first time I went to a place where I had no footing, a place not in Europe nor in Japan. Because of this, I was able to feel like I could live the rest of my life as an artist on the faraway West Coast—perhaps because there wasn’t as much of the class to establish what constituted mainstream culture, underground, and subculture. Things just danced out in the open. I think that the underground culture gained more and more popularity and became pop culture there. That kind of history of the West Coast has a lot in common with the process of how I became an artist. That was the first place I was able to feel accepted. On the West Coast, art journals gave me coverage even though I was new, and there were other artists in California who liked my work, and I remember being very happy.
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Silent Violence” 1995. Acrylic on paper, 49.5 x 36 cm. Screenshot from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common senseTalking to Tim Blum. Screenshot. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common senseExplaining the work “There Is No Place Like Home” 1995. Acrylic on canvas, 41 x 50 cm. Pics from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “There Is No Place Like Home” 1995. Mixed media. Pics from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “There Is No Place Like Home” 1995. Mixed media, 25 x 120 x 40 cm. Pics from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Where Is My Cat?” 1995. Acrylic on canvas, 59.7 x 43.2 cm. Screenshot from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Missing” 1995. Acrylic on canvas, 59.7 x 41.3 cm. Screenshot from the show “Pacific Babies” 1995 @ Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photo: cccs courtesy creative common sense
Let’s try to turn back the wheel of time.
At the beginning of Yoshitomo’s career, still eager to explain his works to a foreign audience, we are getting some hints about the blond girl, it’s his “Dorothy”.
The next protagonist, Yoshitomo as a young boy, who is rambling around in the night, his “Longest Night”. Let’s read the Bee Gees song:
“We don’t talk about it, we got no doubt
We can love each other when the lights go out
I got nobody, my bird has flown
Anyone can see I’m walking alone, walking alone
In your quiet moments, in your silent prayer
I’ll be with you baby, I’ll be there
In your darkest hour, on your longest night
I’ll be with you baby, make it right
On your longest night”
Then he’s talking about two elder brothers, 9 and 10 years older.
I will now assume that Yoshitomo experienced in his childhood a horrible, traumatic incident.
– A wooden, burning house.
– Around midnight.
– A (blond or ginger hair) girl, holding a flame.
– Burning hands.
– A girl with a knife.
– A girl with a cat.
– Silent violence.
– Bandages on the head.
– The right eye of the girl injured.
– Tears and sadness.
– A girl on a boat.
– A young woman at the harbour of a foreign country.
– A human torpedo/suicide craft.
– I’m sorry.
By looking at the early drawings and paintings, the following “hypothetical” questions evolve. What does the knife with the girl in reality mean? What happened to her? Why does he show a work titled “Silent Violence”? Has there been some incident about which (crying) Yoshitomo can’t talk?
NO ONE KNOWS.
Judy Garland as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”
The Wizard of Oz – “There’s No Place Like Home” Magic Spell
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “In the Deepest Puddle II” 「深い深い水たまり II」1995. Acrylic on cotton mounted on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Takahashi Collection
Regarding collector TAKAHASHI Ryutaro 高橋龍太郎, check his explanations (video) and his auction sale in 2015.
screenshot from Sotheby’s websiteScreenshot from Sotheby’s website
Compare another auction sale by Japanese collector KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 @ Sotheby’s:
奈良美智 @ サザビーズ オークション You are not Alone – Yoshitomo Nara works from The Kurokochi collection, screenshot1奈良美智 @ サザビーズ オークション You are not Alone – Yoshitomo Nara works from The Kurokochi collection, screenshot2
Screenshot from Twitter奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Do Not Disturb!” 1996. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 32.0 x 24.0. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo left: “Mumps”, right: “The Last Match”, both 1996. Acrylic on cotton mounted on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Aomori Museum of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sleepless Night (Sitting)” 1997. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Rubell Family Collection, Miami奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sleepless Night (Standing)”「眠れない夜（立像）」1997. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Until 2013 KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 collection. Sold 2013 @ Sotheby’s. Photo taken in the Yokohama Museum of Art 2012奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sleepless Night (Standing)”「眠れない夜（立像）」1997. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Until 2013 KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 collection. Sold 2013 @ Sotheby’s. Photo taken in the Yokohama Museum of Art 2012奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sleepless Night (Standing)”「眠れない夜（立像）」1997. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 cm, detail. Until 2013 KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 collection. Sold 2013 @ Sotheby’s. Photo taken in the Yokohama Museum of Art 2012奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled (after overpainting)” 1987-1997. Acrylic on paper and wood, 89 x 63 x 8.5 cm. Private Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「青タン少女」”The Girl with Black Eye” 1999. Acrylic on canvas, 50.2 x 40.1 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo, work on paper, 1999 (UKIYO-E) 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Pup King” 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 124.5 x 149.9 cm @ BLUM & POE, Art Basel 2019奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「回天」”Kaiten” 2001. Acrylic on cotton mounted on FRP, Diam. 55 x 9.5 cm. Until 2013 KUROKOCHI Shun 黒河内 俊 collection. Sold 2013 @ Sotheby’s. Photo taken in Yokohama Museum of Art 2012.NARA Yoshitomo 奈良美智 “Fountain of Life” 2001/04. Collection of Petch Osathanugrah @ 奈良美智 for better or worse 個展 solo show 2017, 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, courtesy creative common sense
This work exists in slightly alternated editions.
Title: “Fountain of Life”「生命之泉 (簡体)」, 2001/2014/2022. Lacquer and urethane on FRP, motor and water, Diam. 180 x 175 cm
NARA Yoshitomo solo show 奈良美智個展 展示風景 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017, courtesy creative common senseScreenshot from michinara3 instagram奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light My Fire”「ハートに火をつけて」2001. Acrylic and cotton on wood, 188 x 173 x 110 cm. From MURAKAMI Takashi Collection. Shown during NARA Yoshitomo’s solo show 奈良美智個展 展示風景 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light My Fire”「ハートに火をつけて」2001. Acrylic and cotton on wood, 188 x 173 x 110 cm. Exhibited in “Takashi Murakami’s Superflat Collection: From Shōhaku and Rosanjin to Anselm Kiefer” 2016 @ Yokohama Museum of ArtScreenshot from artnet. May 2008: “Murakami wasn’t on hand only to watch his own triumph – – he said he had no idea who bought the work – – but also to bid, as he won the final lot in the auction, Yoshitomo Nara’s ‘Light My Fire’ (2001), for $1,161,000, a price that is an auction record for a Nara sculpture.”
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「『アルゼンチンババア』のためのドローイング」Drawing for “Argentine Hag” 2002. Acrylic, colored pencil, pen, and fabric on canvas board, etc. (15 pieces)
“Argentine Baba” 「アルゼンチンババア (ARGENTINE HAG)」is a novel written by YOSHIMOTO Banana in 2002. Illustrations by NARA Yoshitomo. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アルゼンチンババア
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Daydreamer” 2003. Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 157.5 x 137 cm. Private Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “My Drawing Room” 2004〜2020. Installation (mixed media), 312 x 200 x 448 cm @ Hara Museum, Tokyo. Collection 原美術館ARC / Hara Museum ARC. Relocated to Hara Museum ARC (Gunma) in 2021. Cooperation provided by graf奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Missing in Action—Girl Meets Boy—” 2005. Acrylic, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, 150 x 137; frame: 150 x 137 cm. 広島市現代美術館 / Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo, from left: “Under the Tree” 2006, colored pencil and acrylic on cardboard, 30.5 x 23.8 cm; “Too Drunk to Figure Out” 2006, colored pencil and acrylic on cardboard, 53.5 x 46.0 cm; “I’m a Son of a Gun” 2006, colored pencil and acrylic on cardboard, 68.0 x 46.2 cm, all artist collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Home” 2017. Acrylic on jute mounted on wood, 180.5 x 160.5 x 4.8 cm @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “From the Bomb Shelter” 「从防空洞出来 (簡体) 」 2017. Acrylic on jute mounted on wood, 180.5 x 160.5 x 4.8 cm @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Emergency” 2013. Acrylic on wood, 211 x 186 cm @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Installed @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Installed @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Girl on the Boat” 1994. Acrylic on wood, 52 x 15 x 30 cm. 豊田市美術館 / Toyota Municipal Museum of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Installed @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm, inside. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Installed @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2017NOW I’M SHITTY OLD MAN! SO FUCK YOU!奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006THE WIZARD OF OZ JUDY GARLAND
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006Fuckin’ TownKanazawa Moon Mix 1-22奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, installed at the Mori Art Museum 2020奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, installed at the Mori Art Museum 2020奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo + graf “Voyage of the Moon (Resting Moon) / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Installation (mixed media), 476 x 354 x 495 cm, inside. 金沢21世紀美術館 / 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, installed at the Mori Art Museum 2020奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Lonely Moon / Voyage of the Moon” 2006. Acrylic on cotton mounted on FRP, Diam. 180 x 26 cm. 金沢21世紀美術館 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Mori Art Museum 2020)奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “After the Acid Rain” 2006, detail. Acrylic on canvas, 227 x 182 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “After the Acid Rain” 2006. Acrylic on canvas, 227 x 182 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “White Night” 2006 Acrylic on canvas, 162.5 x 130 cm. Collection of Leo Shih奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Cloudy” 2006. Acrylic on canvas, 81 x 65 cm @ Blum & Poe, Art Basel 2013, sold for 250.000 US$.Blum & Poe booth @ Art Basel 2013奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sprout the Ambassador” 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 117 x 91 cm. Private collection, owned by Damgaard Company A/S奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Sprout the Ambassador” 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 117 x 91 cm, detail. Private collection, owned by Damgaard Company A/S奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「おたふく0号」(OTAFUKU No.0 (Moon-faced Woman No.0)) 2007. Ceramic, 112.5 x 125 x 138 cm @ Blum & Poe, Art Basel 2018奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “California Orange Covered Wagon” 2008. Installation (acrylic on wood, recovered windows and table, metal) , 243.8 x 315.0 x 464.8 cm. MURAKAMI Takashi 村上隆 Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “California Orange Covered Wagon” 2008. Installation (acrylic on wood, recovered windows and table, metal) , 243.8 x 315.0 x 464.8 cm, detail 1. MURAKAMI Takashi 村上隆 Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “California Orange Covered Wagon” 2008. Installation (acrylic on wood, recovered windows and table, metal) , 243.8 x 315.0 x 464.8 cm, detail 2. MURAKAMI Takashi 村上隆 Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “California Orange Covered Wagon” 2008. Installation (acrylic on wood, recovered windows and table, metal) , 243.8 x 315.0 x 464.8 cm, detail 3. MURAKAMI Takashi 村上隆 Collection9 Japanese music titles chosen for “YOKOHAMA MUSEUM 村上さん SUPERFLAT”奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Fire” 2009. Acrylic on wood, 90 x 90 cm. Private Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!” 2011. Acrylic on found signboard (diptych). Left 159.4 x 87.6 x 5.1 cm, right 161.3 x 88.9 x 5.1 cm @ Edward Tyler Nahem, Art Basel 2022奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!” 2011. Acrylic on found signboard (diptych). Left 159.4 x 87.6 x 5.1 cm, right 161.3 x 88.9 x 5.1 cm奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!” 2011. Acrylic on found signboard (diptych). Left 159.4 x 87.6 x 5.1 cm, right 161.3 x 88.9 x 5.1 cm, detail @ Edward Tyler Nahem
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「真夜中の巡礼者」 “Midnight Pilgrim” 2012. Bronze with black patina, 158 x 58 x 64 cm, Edition 3, A.P. 2. Shown at Art Basel 2013奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「夜まで待てない」(“Can’t Wait ’til the Night Comes” 2012. Acrylic on canvas, 197 x 182.5 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “for better or worse”個展 solo show 2017 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “for better or worse” 個展 solo show 2017 @ 豊田市美術館 Toyota Municipal Museum of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ブランキー」”Blankey” 2012. Acrylic on canvas, 194.8 x 162 cm. Private collection2012年、横浜美術館の個展。奈良美智の挨拶スピーチ （と会田誠）Solo exhibition @ Yokohama Art Museum 2012. Opening speech by NARA Yoshitomo (blue T-Shirt: artist AIDA Makoto)NARA Yoshitomo: a bit like you and me… 奈良美智：君や僕にちょっと似ている @ Solo show Yokohama Museum of Art 横浜美術館の個展 2012奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “White Ghost” 2010. Urethane on FRP, 265 x 259.1 x 243.8 cm, Ed. 2, A.P. 1. Collection Des Moines Art Center (Ed. 2/2) ; The Gateway Foundation (A.P. 1) 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ジュリアン」”Julien” 2012. Acrylic on jute mounted on wood, 180.5 x 160.5 x 4.8 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ジュリアン」”Julien” 2012. Acrylic on jute mounted on wood, 180.5 x 160.5 x 4.8 cm, detail1. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo 「ジュリアン」”Julien” 2012. Acrylic on jute mounted on wood, 180.5 x 160.5 x 4.8 cm, detail2. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「春少女」”Miss Spring” 2012. Acrylic on canvas, 227 x 182 cm. 横浜美術館 / The Yokohama Museum of Art, photo taken in 2015奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「春少女」”Miss Spring” 2012, detail奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「春少女」”Miss Spring” 2012, detailBlum & Poe page in the Art Basel 2013 catalogue. 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo「春少女」”Miss Spring” 2012. Acrylic on canvas, 227 x 182 cm. Bought by The Yokohama Museum of Art 横浜美術館奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Wounded” 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “No Means No” 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 131 x 97 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “M.I.A.” 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 100.5 x 91 cm. Private collection
[AC] ミッシングインアクション M.I.A Missing in Action
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Miss Margaret” 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 194 x 162 cm. The Rachofsky Collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Dead of Night” 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 100.5 x 91 cm. Private collection奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Midnight Surprise” 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 116.5 cm. Collection of Lisa and Steven Tananbaum奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Midnight Surprise” 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 116.5 cm, detail. Collection of Lisa and Steven Tananbaum奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Midnight Truth” 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 227.3 x 181.8 cm. The National Gallery of Art奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Not Yet Titled” 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 220 x 195 cm (right, on the left:) 石川順惠 ISHIKAWA Yukie “Impermanence – Oboroyo” 2019, Acrylic and sand on canvas, 228 x 200 cm @ BLUM & POE, Art Basel 2019奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Not Yet Titled” 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 220 x 195 cm, sold for US$ 2 million （2019年 = 約2億1千700万円）@ BLUM & POE, Art Basel 2019奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Miss Moonlight” 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 245 x 222 cm. Collection 森美術館 Mori Art Museum奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Miss Moonlight” 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 245 x 222 cm, detail. Collection 森美術館 Mori Art Museum奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Untitled” 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 110 x 4.8 cm with Blum & Poe director and friend Ashley Rawlings
NARA Yoshitomo in Stella McCartney Summer 2023 Runway, Paris
Stella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara join creative forces again, with the legendary Japanese artist’s work featured in the designer’s Summer Collection 2023, ParisStella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara join creative forces again, with the legendary Japanese artist’s work featured in the designer’s Summer Collection 2023, ParisStella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara join creative forces again, with the legendary Japanese artist’s work featured in the designer’s Summer Collection 2023, ParisNARA Yoshitomo “Harmless Kitty” 1994Stella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara join creative forces again, with the legendary Japanese artist’s work featured in the designer’s Summer Collection 2023, ParisStella McCartney and Yoshitomo Nara join creative forces again, with the legendary Japanese artist’s work featured in the designer’s Summer Collection 2023, Paris
Please keep in mind, up-dates will occur constantly. Further archival materials regarding Yoshitomo’s world will be posted below.
BT magazine 美術手帖 2012.09 vol.64 No.973. 特集 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo Special IssueArticle about NO NUKES with NARA Yoshitomo in BT magazine 美術手帖 2012.09 vol.64 No.973. 特集 奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo Special Issue温泉対談再び pages 86-7 Talk between NARA Yoshitomo and MURAKAMI Takashi in an Onsen (Spa) for BT. ここに載せた写真とスクリーンショットは、すべて「好意によりクリエーティブ・コモン・センス」の文脈で、日本美術史の記録の為に発表致します。Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photos: cccs courtesy creative common senseLeft: NARA Yoshitomo and MURAKAMI Takashi in an Onsen (Spa). Courtesy BT Magazine. Right: AERA Cover 2012/8/27 ここに載せた写真とスクリーンショットは、すべて「好意によりクリエーティブ・コモン・センス」の文脈で、日本美術史の記録の為に発表致します。Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photos: cccs courtesy creative common senseAsahi Shimbun Weekly AERA 2012.8.27, pages 34-5OZ magazine, September 2012, pages 52-3
Screenshot from Focus Taiwan website.
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photos: cccs courtesy creative common senseNARA Yoshitomo 奈良美智 @ 読売新聞夕刊 YOMIURI Newspaper Evening Edition 2022/9/13
美術の道 家賃1万円から The way to art, starting with a room’s rent of 10.000 Yen
2022/11/17 up-date
The Now Evening Auction @ Sotheby’s New York, 16 November 2022
Lot 8
Yoshitomo Nara
Light Haze Days / Study
signed and dated 2020 (on the reverse)
acrylic on canvas
86 ⅝ by 76 ¾ in.
220 by 195 cm. Executed in 2020.
Estimate:
9,000,000 – 12,000,000 USD
Lot sold: 11,929,400 USD
Description
Property from an Esteemed Private Collection
Yoshitomo Nara
b. 1959
知名私人收藏
奈良美智
生於1959年
《朦朧之日/習作》
款識︰藝術家簽名並紀年2020（背面）
壓克力彩畫布
86 ⅝ x 76 ¾ 英寸
220 x 195 公分
2020年作
Provenance
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art, Yoshitomo Nara, April 2021-January 2022
Shanghai, Yuz Museum, Yoshitomo Nara, March 2022-January 2023
Literature
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Virtual Conversation with Yoshitomo Nara and Mika Yoshitake, 11 October 2020, illustrated in color (video)
Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Insider, Vol. 14, Iss. 1, Winter 2021, p. 64, illustrated in color (detail), p.65, illustrated in color (photographed with the artist)
Zhang Kun, “A Master’s Works Give Art Emotional Depth,” China Daily, 11 July 2022, illustrated in color (installed in Yuz Museum) (online)
Bijutsu Shuppan Sha & Yoshitomo Nara, Yoshitomo Nara: Catalogue Raisonné, Tokyo 2011-ongoing, no. YNF6765, illustrated in color (online)
奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light Haze Days” 2020 / screenshot from Sotheby’s website, see also the next ones奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light Haze Days” 2020 / screenshot from Sotheby’s website, see also the next ones奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light Haze Days” 2020 / screenshot from Sotheby’s website, see also the next one奈良美智 NARA Yoshitomo “Light Haze Days” 2020 / screenshot from Sotheby’s websiteTwitter Screenshot
Kelly Crow (Wall Street Journal) on Twitter 2022/11/17
Wendy Lin, who reps Taiwan, wins this (cough) two-year-old Yoshitomo Nara for $10.1m hammer or $11.9m with fees over its $9 million low estimate
@sothebys
Sotheby’s confirms that it went to Asia.
Link_https://twitter.com/KellyCrowWSJ/status/1593024162138050560
僕は人が思う以上にある時期からずっと人間不信です。嫌なことは忘れやすい性格なのだけど、時々こういうのがあると人が思う以上に落ち込みます。
Translated from Japanese by Google
In 2006, during an exhibition in Hirosaki, where I spent my life from birth to high school, I drew this on the door of a cafeteria that was introduced to someone. went to auction.
I’ve been distrustful of people since a certain time, more than people think. I tend to forget bad things, but sometimes I get depressed more than people think when something like this happens.
Untitled Work by NARA Yoshitomo 奈良美智, signed with “Nara 2006.22.NOV.”, detail, screenshot from Twitter
人を信じて何回裏切られたか数え切れない〜〜〜😭
I can’t count how many times I trusted people and was betrayed~~~ 😭
8:33 AM · Nov 21, 2022
Link_https://twitter.com/michinara3/status/1594474012645543937
ここに載せた写真とスクリーンショットは、すべて「好意によりクリエーティブ・コモン・センス」の文脈で、日本美術史の記録の為に発表致します。Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works photos: cccs courtesy creative common sense
Irregularly, in the coming months and years, in random order so to say, I shall write down actual and old occurrences regarding the many encounters with Yoshitomo and his artistic practice.
