Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan) is among the most beloved artists of his generation. His widely recognizable portraits of menacing figures reflect the artist’s raw encounters with his inner self. Nara’s work takes inspiration from a wide range of sources, ranging from childhood memories, music, and literature, to studying and living in Germany and exploring his roots in Japan, Sakhalin, and Asia, as well as modern art from Europe and Japan.

In the early 2000s, Nara became associated with an avant-garde group of Japanese artists known as Superflat, which also included Takashi Murakami and Chiho Aoshima. These artists became known for their use of bright colors, patterns, and Japanese cartoon motifs to examine hyper-consumerism, industrialization, and globalization in contemporary culture.

Nara has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions worldwide, including the current major retrospective exhibition Yoshitomo Nara at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA. His works have been included extensively in group exhibitions such as the Gwangju Bienniale (2018) and Future Pass: From Asia to the World, 54th Esposizione Internazionale d’Art, la Biennale di.

Venezia, Venice, Italy (2011), among many others. Leading art institutions that have acquired Nara’s work include the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, London, and the National Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan. Yoshitomo Nara lives and works in Tokyo, and is represented by Blum & Poe and PACE.

Portrait: Yoshitomo Nara, 2020. Photo: Ryoichi Kawajiri