- for better or worse -
Yoshitomo Nara: Works 1987-2017 Jul. 15~Sep. 24 2017
Nara’s artworks have a sincerity that resonates with viewers regardless of their culture, social background, age or gender. They are poignant yet psychologically charged meditations on solitude and memory. By evoking universally shared emotions and experiences, Nara allows viewers to relate to his work on a deeply personal level.
From the late 1980s, Nara spent a decade based in Düsseldorf and Cologne, Germany, where he developed his artistic language—figurative images drawn from memories and the profound solitude he felt during his childhood in northern Japan. Early on, his practice was characterized by bold compositions, be it in richly layered paintings on canvas, spontaneous and emotionally direct drawings, or installations of found objects. From the mid-1990s, Nara gained increasing recognition, establishing himself not only in the international art world but also in the broader pop cultural consciousness. Since the 2000s, he has further refined his compositions to depict figures that gaze directly at the viewer. These paintings have an almost translucent quality—a radiance that lingers in the mind.
Nara’s travels all over the world, his encounters with people from countless different walks of life, and his love of art, history, literature and music have all shaped his sensibility. The emotional residue of these experiences is evident in his work. Believing in art as a means to form connections, he leaves open a space for a variety of different readings and emotional responses, ranging from catharsis to political defiance and hope.
http://www.museum.toyota.aichi.jp/exhibition/2017/special/narayoshitomo.html
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