Asia Society is pleased to present a major exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959), one of the most influential and internationally renowned Neo-Pop artists working today. The exhibition comprises 20 years' worth of paintings, sculpture, drawings, and large-scale installations.
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Asia Society is pleased to present a major exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959), one of the most influential and internationally renowned Neo-Pop artists working today. The exhibition comprises 20 years’ worth of paintings, sculpture, drawings, and large-scale installations.
Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool draws connections between the artist’s work and the sensibilities of youth subcultures worldwide, focusing on themes of alienation and rebellion, particularly in relation to rock and punk music, the inspiration and subject of many of Nara’s works. The graphic nature of Nara’s art recalls the lyrics of rock groups such as Nirvana, The Doors, and The Ramones, and his art has inspired a cult following among youth throughout Asia.
Asia Society’s exhibition includes more than 100 works from Nara’s early period to recent years. Many of these have never been exhibited in the United States. In addition, the exhibition will include a newly commissioned installation that is the result of a collaboration between Nara and designer Hideki Toyoshima, a founding member of the Japanese design collective graf, established in Osaka, Japan, in 2000. Nara and Toyoshima will establish a temporary “open studio” over five days in August at Park Avenue Armory in order to create new works that will be featured in Asia Society’s exhibition. Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool is co-curated by Melissa Chiu, Asia Society Museum Director, and Miwako Tezuka, Associate Curator, Asia Society.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated book, the first comprehensive monograph on the work of Yoshitomo Nara. Featuring over 250 full color illustrations, an extensive interview with the artist, and English translations of the artist’s Japanese blog, the book will include contributions from the co-curators of the exhibition, prominent curators and critics, and Nara’s longtime collaborator Hideki Toyoshima.
