Works by Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara is a leading figure in contemporary art. His characteristic style: children in a range of emotional expressions, from resistance and rebellion to silence and contemplation.
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Yoshitomo Nara is a leading figure in contemporary art. His characteristic style: children in a range of emotional expressions, from resistance and rebellion to silence and contemplation.
Selected Exhibitions:
Born in 1959 in Aomori Prefecture. In 1987, he completed a master’s degree at the Aichi University of the Arts. Moved to Germany in 1988 and enrolled at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. After a stay in Cologne, he returned to Japan in 2000. Since the late 1990s, he has exhibited in various places in Europe, the United States, Japan and Asia. Known for powerful portraits with eyes that look back at the viewer, daily drawings, three-dimensional works in wood, GRP, ceramic and bronze, and installations of small houses.
The figures in Nara’s paintings are the result of the artist’s confrontation with the deepest part of his soul; using color and composition based on the theory of painting, he repeatedly layers and erases paint from the canvas, so that in the end only the most serious part that could not be cut away remains. In contrast, his drawings are removed from theory. Using materials that are familiar to him, such as torn-off stationery or used envelopes, he lays his feelings and thoughts bare. In his three-dimensional works, for which he has varied his media over the years, Nara brings familiar objects to new life through a meditative dialog with the materials. In recent years, he has begun to present his photography in full. For these photographic works, he discovers the raw beauty in everyday landscapes and moments of his work or travels that could easily be overlooked and captures them as something precious.
Nara’s works contain everything he carries within him. Memories that have burrowed into the depths of his soul, and the music, painting, literature that he has organically stumbled upon by following his curiosity, that have inspired his mind and sensibility – all of this is accumulated in countless layers. For example, he was heavily influenced by the music he started listening to when he was 9 years old. Most of it was in a foreign language, but the young Nara used his imagination to overcome the language barrier. He recreated the landscape of the music within himself using the record sleeves and tried to understand the piece as if he were living in that world himself.
Nara creates his works directly and freely, without any ties. These works transcend linguistic, cultural and epochal boundaries and are loved by many people. The artist confronts the true nature of people and things and is always honest in doing so. The results are works that are like mirrors that reflect the hearts of the viewers. In recent years, he has been actively spreading his message on Twitter and Instagram, and no matter where he is in the world, he is connected with his friends in real time. And Nara is a traveler, in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes he goes in search of his own roots. At other times, he is strongly drawn to the spark of cultures that have survived through the trials and tribulations of history, visiting and exploring their lands. Valuing the human relationships he has built through these encounters, he visits all kinds of places without limiting himself to the paradigm of art; like a traveling bard, he creates and presents his works to friends all over the world.
© 2025 - Frank Fluegel Galerie
Obere Wörthstrasse 12 / 90403 Nürnberg / Germany / +49 911 23737500
Josef-Pirchl-Straße 6 / 6370 Kitzbühel / Austria
© 2025 - Frank Fluegel Galerie
Obere Wörthstrasse 12
90403 Nürnberg
Germany
+49 911 23737500
Josef-Pirchl-Straße 6
6370 Kitzbühel
Austria
