Preview: Yoshitomo Nara’s “Greetings from a Place in My Heart” at Dairy Art Centre

Earlier this year, Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles brought us never before seen works by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (covered here). The show was critically acclaimed for his introduction of new materials, including large scale bronze busts and environmentally-friendly installations. Alongside some of these same peices, he will debut a new series "Greetings from a Place in My Heart", opening tonight at Dairy Art Centre in London. Nara will also host a rare artist talk about the exhibit, notably the largest retrospective of his drawings, paintings, and sculpture spanning 30 years.

Earlier this year, Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles brought us never before seen works by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (covered here). The show was critically acclaimed for his introduction of new materials, including large scale bronze busts and environmentally-friendly installations. Alongside some of these same peices, he will debut a new series “Greetings from a Place in My Heart”, opening tonight at Dairy Art Centre in London.

Nara will also host a rare artist talk about the exhibit, notably the largest retrospective of his drawings, paintings, and sculpture spanning 30 years. He brings them together for the first time in bolder and more luminescent layers of paper than before.The roughly 200 sketches offer both insight into the artist’s process and a glimpse into his future as he develops creatively in post-war Japan. These cultural influences range from Japanese manga and Western painting practice to his signature themes, like folk and rock music. Nara’s art has long represented children’s imaginations, adult problems, and our rebellion against the modern world. As society and pop culture changes, so do the issues he addresses in his imagery, constantly forming his artistic expression.

Yoshitomo Nara’s “Greetings from a Place in My Heart” opens on October 2nd at Dairy Art Centre in London. The exhibition will tour to ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark in October 2015.

Topics

Blum and Poe, Japanese art, Retrospective, Yoshitomo Nara

Asia Society, Japanese art, Manga, Yoshitomo Nara

March 6, 2015

It's not manga. This is the starting point of a conversation that Yoshitomo Nara will host today about his debut solo exhibition in Hong Kong, "Life is Only One." The show opened last night at the Asia Society, named after Nara's painting "Life is Only One!", featuring a child holding a skull as he contemplates life. In a recent interview, Nara shared, "When I was a child, the word “life” itself, of course, was a foreign concept. After turning 50, however, and with the deaths of people close to me and with the recent earthquake, I started to think about life more realistically - the limits of life, and the importance of what one can accomplish during that time."

On View: “Howl” by Mikiko Kumazawa at Mizuma Art Gallery

Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan, Japanese art, Mizuma Art Gallery, pencil

March 12, 2015

Four years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake which continues to have a significant impact on the nation of Japan and its artists. On March 11th, the anniversary of the disaster, Mizuma Art Gallery presented "Howl", an exhibition of elaborate pencil drawings by Mikiko Kumazawa. Kumazawa's latest works reflect on the past four years, and her own personal emotional interpretation of the event. Collectively, here is an image of human nature's strength and weakness in the face of uncontrollable forces. Take a look at "Howl" after the jump!

New Portraits by “Hi” are Lonely, Together

digital art, Hi, Japanese art, Millennial, 非

May 30, 2014

Japanese artist 非 (meaning “Hi”) first caught our attention in 2012 with his mysterious tumblr of digital illustrations that look like oils. Hi’s portraits of young men, often depicted with a pained expression, are a unique blend of creepiness and happy colors. For writing purposes, we can only guess “his” gender, because Hi keeps his real name, sex and age a secret. Hi intentionally doesn’t sell his works nor does he exhibit in a gallery. What we do know is that Hi is a young artist representing the internet generation, millennials using it for creative tools, inspiration, and reaching audiences on a socially global level. Take a look at Hi's new work after the jump.

On View: “Ripple” by Yugo Kohrogi at Cashi, Tokyo

Absract Art, Expressionism, Japanese art, Yogo Kohrogi

January 8, 2015

Tokyo based painter Yugo Kohrogi sees life through a unique filter. His exhibition "Ripple", now on view at Cashi gallery in Tokyo, presents interpretations of the female form with a ripple effect. Kohrogi's images undulate with an invisible energy that changes from piece to piece. Looking through broken glass or a watery surface might distort an image differently, and it's these subtle differences that Kohrogi observes.

Preview: Yoshitomo Nara’s “Greetings from a Place in My Heart” at Dairy Art Centre

On View: “Life is Only One: Yoshitomo Nara” at Asia Society Hong Kong

On View: “Howl” by Mikiko Kumazawa at Mizuma Art Gallery

New Portraits by “Hi” are Lonely, Together

On View: “Ripple” by Yugo Kohrogi at Cashi, Tokyo

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