Yoshitomo Nara Japan / 1959 Untitled (1992)
Details
Pen, colored pencil and acrylic on paper
Inscribed upper part - Label E.J. van Wisselingh & Co, Haarlem and label Gal. d'Eendt, Amsterdam, on the reverse
20,5 x 14,6 cm
With documentation
Provenance
Gal. Ferdinand van Dieten-d'Eendt, Amsterdam
Coll. Herman Postma, Amsterdam
E.J. van Wisselingh & Co, Haarlem
Literature
Included in the online catalogue raisonné by the Yoshitomo Nara Foundation as number YNF6946
Lot essay
Not always innoncent
Naughty might be the best way to describe Yoshitomo Nara's figures. At first glance, they seem cute and innocent. Until you take a closer look and a darker side is revealed to these boys and girls. Depicted with knives, burning torches, cigarettes or urinating, they are little rebels rather than innocent angels.
Nara grows up in northern Japan. As the youngest of three brothers with hard-working parents, his childhood is marked by loneliness. He finds companionship in Japanese comic books that inspire him artistically. Influenced also by punk rock music and American media, Nara studies at the Aichi University of Arts. He then moves to Germany to further develop his artistic ambitions at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf.
Around the 2000s, Nara becomes associated with the postmodern Superflat movement. An art movement founded by a number of Japanese avant-garde artists. They use bright colors, patterns and Japanese cartoon motifs to explore their country's hypermarketed and hyperconsumerist culture. Nara's interpretation of this movement is manifested in depicting young children, often with large heads. These figures, alternately shy, aggressive, pensive, fragile and strong, are among the most popular images of the past 30 years.
The artwork presented here from 1992 is an early work by Nara. Made during his years studying in Düsseldorf, influences of neo-expressionism and punk rock are still clearly present. Just look at the use of bright, somewhat unnatural colours and the rough lines.
Bid on this lot
Details
Pen, colored pencil and acrylic on paper
Inscribed upper part - Label E.J. van Wisselingh & Co, Haarlem and label Gal. d'Eendt, Amsterdam, on the reverse
20,5 x 14,6 cm
With documentation
Provenance
Gal. Ferdinand van Dieten-d'Eendt, Amsterdam
Coll. Herman Postma, Amsterdam
E.J. van Wisselingh & Co, Haarlem
Literature
Included in the online catalogue raisonné by the Yoshitomo Nara Foundation as number YNF6946
Lot essay
Not always innoncent
Naughty might be the best way to describe Yoshitomo Nara's figures. At first glance, they seem cute and innocent. Until you take a closer look and a darker side is revealed to these boys and girls. Depicted with knives, burning torches, cigarettes or urinating, they are little rebels rather than innocent angels.
Nara grows up in northern Japan. As the youngest of three brothers with hard-working parents, his childhood is marked by loneliness. He finds companionship in Japanese comic books that inspire him artistically. Influenced also by punk rock music and American media, Nara studies at the Aichi University of Arts. He then moves to Germany to further develop his artistic ambitions at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf.
Around the 2000s, Nara becomes associated with the postmodern Superflat movement. An art movement founded by a number of Japanese avant-garde artists. They use bright colors, patterns and Japanese cartoon motifs to explore their country's hypermarketed and hyperconsumerist culture. Nara's interpretation of this movement is manifested in depicting young children, often with large heads. These figures, alternately shy, aggressive, pensive, fragile and strong, are among the most popular images of the past 30 years.
The artwork presented here from 1992 is an early work by Nara. Made during his years studying in Düsseldorf, influences of neo-expressionism and punk rock are still clearly present. Just look at the use of bright, somewhat unnatural colours and the rough lines.
