Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959) is one of the most celebrated representatives of his generation. Stylized depictions of large-headed girls with captivating eyes and threatening, defiant and angry, or melancholy and insecure expressions that became his signature works—and are now considered icons of contemporary painting. In the exhibition “Yoshitomo Nara”, the artist’s first large retrospective in Germany, the Museum Frieder Burda presents paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations from the last four decades.
While the aesthetics of Nara’s characters are reminiscent of mangas, his figures, animals, and hybrid beings are first and foremost an expression of his own feelings and thoughts. Sources of inspiration include his deep-rooted memories of a lonely childhood with working parents, his love of music and literature, his knowledge of Japanese and European art history, and encounters with people and other cultures.
Exhibition co-organized by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Museum Frieder Burda and the Hayward Gallery.
While the aesthetics of Nara’s characters are reminiscent of mangas, his figures, animals, and hybrid beings are first and foremost an expression of his own feelings and thoughts. Sources of inspiration include his deep-rooted memories of a lonely childhood with working parents, his love of music and literature, his knowledge of Japanese and European art history, and encounters with people and other cultures.
Exhibition co-organized by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Museum Frieder Burda and the Hayward Gallery.
