Yoshitomo Nara

Arguably a pioneering figure in contemporary art, Yoshitomo Nara’s signature images of wide-eyed children in a range of emotional complexities revel in the introspective freedom of imagination and individuality. A peripatetic traveler, Nara’s oeuvre has consistently drawn inspiration from a wide range of resources including pop culture aesthetics of manga, anime, and Walt Disney cartoons. As in all of his works, the artist uses both cute and sinister child characters as in his work Do Not Disturb! set against simple flat backgrounds in solid hues and simple bold lines. In addition to painting, drawing, and photography, Yoshitomo Nara also creates sculptures that explore themes of isolation, rebellion, and spirituality that span not only autobiographical but also broader cultural sensibilities. Nara’s complex paintings featured on Bidsquare's online auctions explore imagination and the individual with a fleeting presence between the figure and the ground in which the figure appears to float in a space outside the confines of time.

Born on December 5, 1959, in Hirosaki, Japan, Yoshitomo Nara received his master’s degree from Aichi University of the Arts, completing further studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His stay in Germany had a pivotal influence on the artist as he explores the synthesis of Japanese and Western popular culture as in Nachtwandern, and later in Ponytail and Haze Days. Nara's free, direct, and uninhibited works transcend language, culture, and historical decades, and are appreciated by people all over the world.

Today, Nara's cult following is attributed to his ability to capture a universal feeling of angst spanning global borders. He currently lives and works in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture in Japan. Works of Yoshitomo Nara Art belong to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rubell Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, among others. Secondary market sales of Nara's paintings have reached seven figures.

 Interesting facts about Yoshitomo Nara

• Nara denies that his work contains overt cultural or political messages.
• Nara’s portraits hide a darker side.

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