Yoshitomo NARA Lot n° 57

Yoshitomo Nara Untitled 1991 Acrylic on window glass with wooden frame 107 x 92 x 5 cm. Signed and dated 'Yoshitomo Nara '91' on the reverse of the wooden frame. - With studio and minor signs of age. Yoshitomo Nara, The complete works, paintings, sculptures, editions, photographs, vol.1, San Francisco 2011, WVZ-No. P-1991-016 Provenance Directly from the artist; private collection, Rhineland-Palatinate In 1991, the year in which the work offered here was created, Yoshitomo Nara, originally from Japan, was in Düsseldorf, where he was studying at the Art Academy as a student of A. R. Penck. The influence of his teacher can be seen in this early work, which in its highly simplified, sketch-like execution is reminiscent of a child's drawing. It thus stands in contrast to Nara's later paintings, which are characterized by a smooth, flawless pictorial language. The feeling of isolation that the young artist experienced during his stay of several years in a foreign country and his confrontation with the unfamiliar environment are expressed in his art. In a non-verbal way, he is able to give the viewer an insight into himself in his paintings and drawings; childhood memories and the visual language of Japanese children's books flow into them. Already in his early works he concentrates on isolated depicted child figures, who act in a kind of bubble without a defined surrounding space. While these small protagonists are often characterized by emotions such as forlornness, sadness, or anger, the present work conveys a sense of optimism and carefree spirit. Similar to the manga comics of his Japanese homeland or street art, Nara often combines painting with text elements. The raw character of street art is also evoked in our work by the image carrier, a window with a wooden frame, which has been adapted as an unconventional image carrier. The text passages Nara uses are usually taken from rock or punk songs, which he listens to during the painting process. This music is a major source of inspiration for him, and core themes such as rebellion and non-conformity are often reflected in his painting. In this case, however, he takes up the joy of music and a positive attitude: "But nothing get[s] me down".