Many people say that these are children but I think these are not children that I paint. Therefore, they are no particular children but for me, these are all my own self portraits.
–Yoshitomo Nara
An expansive exhibit of works by Yoshitomo Nara (b.1959) is currently on view at the Albertina Modern in Vienna. Much of the exhibit showcases the the drawings that he has done over the past forty years that led to his becoming an international sensation.
Nara curated the exhibit himself. Many of the works he has chosen to display are drawings that he scribbled on envelopes, bits of cardboard and slips of paper.
He attributes the emotions that pervade his art to his loneliness as a latchkey kid in rural Japan listening to punk rock broadcast from a nearby American military radio station, and his living in Germany for over a decade, unable to connect fully because of language. The feelings that he is able to convey through his art has touched a wide audience and, more recently, a younger fan base of collectors.
Nara moved back to Japan in 2000, the same year that one of his paintings sold at auction for $24.9 million.
Yoshitomo Nara: All My Little Words will be on exhibit at the Albertina Modern through November 1, 2023.
The Albertina Modern is preparing a special retrospective to celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Roy Lichtenstein.
The Albertina is working with the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, European and American museums (including MoMA and the Whitney) and private collectors to look back at the extraordinary career of the artist who pioneered profound changes in mid-20th century art. Roy Lichtenstein: A Centennial Exhibition will be on exhibit from March 8, 2024 through July 14, 2024.
A centennial exhibit of Lichtenstein’s works are currently on view at the Tate Modern and will run through December 31, 2023. The Whitney is preparing a Centennial Celebration of Lichtenstein’s works in the fall of 2026.
The work of Yoshitomo Nara and other fine artists will be on view at the VFA Gallery at the Art on Paper 2023 Fair at Pier 36 in Manhattan this weekend.
References:
Vivienne Chow. For His First European Institutional Show in a Decade, Art Star Yoshitomo Nara Brings All of His ‘Little Worlds’ to a Major Museum in Vienna. Artnet News. May 23, 2023.
Eileen Kinsella. How Artist Yoshitomo Nara’s Return to Japan After 12 Years Abroad Reshaped His Style—and Supercharged His Soaring Market. Artnet News. February 22, 2021.
