Artist Awareness: Yoshitomo Nara

Winni Chen
Apr 23
2 min read

Yoshitomo Nara

b. December 5, 1959 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Background

Yoshitomo Nara, celebrated for highly expressive and stylistic portraits with eyes that gaze back at its viewers, is a contemporary artist living and working out of Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Nara completed his master's degree with Aichi University of Arts before moving to Germany in 1988, where he enrolled at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. According to his website, the figures in Nara's paintings are the product of his internal reflections on the "deepest parts of his soul," with color and compositions based in painting theory and a repeated layering and erasing of color from the canvas until what remains is only what "cannot be pared away." Nara draws inspiration from memories and the literature, music, and art that he has encountered throughout his life. Through his work, Nara attempts to confront the so-called "true essence" of all things. There is a sense of purity and endurance that his process illuminates.

Website

https://www.yoshitomonara.org/en/

Galleries

Yoshitomo Nara's artwork can be viewed in major public collections worldwide, including:

N's Yard, located in Nasushiobara, Japan; a private exhibition established by Nara himself
LACMA, located in Los Angeles, USA; frequently features Nara's work
Aomori Museum of Art, located in Aomori Japan; home to several large-scale Nara pieces
The Art Institute of Chicago, located in Chicago, USA; major collection that frequently show Nara paintings and sculptures
SFMOMA, located in San Franscisco, USA; major collection that frequently show Nara paintings and sculptures

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