The solo exhibition "Yoshitomo Nara" will be at the Yuz Museum on 3 5 9 4 2022. As a major exhibition of the West Bund Art Season and Spring and Summer, this exhibition is not only the second solo exhibition of the artist Yoshitomo Nara (1959) in Lu, China, but also his large-scale retrospective tour around the world.
Curated by the Yuz Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and in close collaboration with Yoshitomo Nara and curator Mika Yoshitake, the exhibition will present more than 70 important paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations, and more than 700 works on paper, including a number of unexposed manuscripts, looking back at the artist's 37 years of prolific art.
Yoshitomo Nara is one of the most popular contemporary artists. His portraits are deep, ranging from objects with sharp eyes and vague ill intentions, occasionally waving or smoking cigarettes, and also heads and portraits suspended in dream-like scenes. Nara's work reflects the artist's candid dialogue with the inner self, drawing inspiration from music, learning, childhood memories, and his experiences of studying and living in Germany (1988-2000), tracing the roots of his transformation in Asia and Sakhalin Island, as well as integrating elements of European and modern art.
Yoshitomo Nara has long loved fun. The exhibition examines the artist's work spanning 1984 and 2021 through Letv. Musically contagious and capable of conveying deep emotions, Nara's artistic creations combine vision, emotion, and character to echo this amount. Dramatic evolutions have taken place from his early allegorical paintings to his more recent portraits, most notably those of Nara's 1990s and early 21st centuries, with their layered brushstrokes and colorful tones, in stark contrast to the relatively rough DIY aesthetic of his early works on paper and the smooth polish of his fiberglass sculptures. Nara's works are as pure and simple as folk music, and he once said: "If the viewer can see through the emotional impact of [my] work table and feel the calm and depth of the movement, then there is no doubt that it is precisely because I am influenced by this music." ”
In March 2011, the Higashimoto earthquake triggered a tsunami and led to a nuclear leak at the Fukushimadei nuclear power plant, just 70 meters north of Nara's workhouse. Since then, his work has undergone a dramatic transformation. Emotionally touched by the trauma of the disaster, Nara turned to a more contemplative and introspective mode of creation, and began to make pottery and cast round or oval bronze heads. The uneven texture of the sculpture reflects the artist's touch, while the calm expression reminds it of the impression of the death apparatus, remembering the millions of souls lost in recent tragedies. The exhibition will feature a special "Nara Mitomo Sculpture Park" in the museum's main exhibition hall, and the original bronze sculptures and original models of fiberglass sculptures will be displayed on a special booth designed by Adrian Kadi, reflecting the artist's empathetic eyes. Through Yoshitomo Nara's quiet, contemplative work, this exhibition also aims to reset some of the mainstream perceptions and shift the focus to the more general introspection and individuality of the artist's work in recent years.