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

Japanese art, Keiichi Tanaami, pop art, Post War Art, The Sixties

September 9, 2014

Japanese Pop artist Keiichi Tanaami has rarely seen artwork now on view at New York contemporary art gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co. When we covered his 2013 solo exhibition at Mizuma Gallery, his art went through a turning point. His fascination with life after a near-death experience inspired him to look to the future, rather than the past. The artwork in this show is not new- but Tanaami's mixture of motifs from the past inspires modern questions that keeps his art relevant.

Tomoyoshi Sakamoto’s Paintings of Tokyo Girls

Japanese art, Manga, Neo-Nihonga, Tomoyoshi Sakamoto

April 29, 2015

There is nothing perfect about the pretty "Tokyo girls" that artist Tomoyoshi Sakamoto paints. Sweet with a twist of irony, his acrylic paintings are representative of Neo-Nihonga Japanese style. In one painting, girls play "dress up" in a scene that would look like any typical sleepover. As they apply their makeup, one horrifyingly ties strings to another's watery eyes. Tears are a common characteristic of Sakamoto's subjects, as they inflict pain and humiliation upon themselves. Not all of his works are graphic, but more melancholy.

Hirabayashi Takahiro Examines Life’s “Borders” in Dreamy Oil Paintings

Buddhism, hirabayashi takahiro, Japanese art, Jizō, Takahiro Hirabayashi

July 25, 2015

Japanese artist Hirabayashi Takahiro (not to be confused with Takahiro Hirabayashi) infuses his religion's mythology with the experience of growing up in his oil paintings. Using "boundaries" as a central theme, his dreamy portraits examine borders between the sky, land and sea, man and nature, childhood and adulthood, and how we navigate them. His main subjects are young girls who serve as a guide or guardian for those in this inbetween state of being. Considering their young age, they share in this delicate state.

Late Artist Tetsuya Ishida Continues to Impress with Nightmarish Paintings

Japanese art, Kaiju, surrealism, Tetsuya Ishida

June 18, 2015

The late artist Tetsuya Ishida is still making an impression with his nightmarish paintings of young men in a state of disfigurement. His work has been described as a surrealistic portrayal of every day Japanese life. Of the 180 works he left behind after his death by a train accident in 2005, nearly all include self-portraits. Ishida’s images most certainly link his own childhood experiences with his observations of society. As a child growing up in Japan, Ishida felt constant pressure to meet the standards of young men his age, and was encouraged to study academics over art. Paintings, such as “Prisoner” (1999) which portrays a young boy growing beyond the capacity of his school walls, reflect on his memories. In fact, there are several iterations of the same image, pointing to the extremity of his frustrations as a student. See more of his work after the jump.

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

On View: Keiichi Tanaami at Sikkema Jenkins & Co Gallery

Tomoyoshi Sakamoto’s Paintings of Tokyo Girls

Hirabayashi Takahiro Examines Life’s “Borders” in Dreamy Oil Paintings

Late Artist Tetsuya Ishida Continues to Impress with Nightmarish Paintings

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