Yoshitomo Nara

Rediscover punk rock and your inner child at this memorable show. Dive into the captivating, creative world of Yoshitomo Nara in the largest European retrospective of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists. This exhibition presents Nara’s work across four decades, inviting you to immerse yourself in his personal and expansive visual universe. Although primarily a painter, Nara works across a wide range of mediums, including drawing, collage, sculpture, installation and found materials such as cardboard, wood, plaster, textile, ceramic and fibreglass. He is renowned for bold images of children with oversized heads and direct, defiant gazes that challenge viewers and explore themes of home, isolation, resilience, belonging, regeneration, hope and freedom. The Hayward Gallery presentation is an expanded version of the touring exhibition from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, featuring several new works from Nara’s most recent period.

The publication accompanying the exhibition provides a thematic overview of Nara’s creative evolution and breadth, drawn from his formative experiences in Japan and time in Germany, while highlighting ongoing environmental and societal concerns rooted in Japan’s northern Tohoku region where he grew up. The volume intertwines memories that flow through Nara’s work with his lifelong interest in popular music, from folk songs and blues to glam, punk and new wave, reflecting his unique artistic voice.

Yeewan Koon is the author of the accompanying book, published 01/06/2025 by South Bank Centre. The book presents a substantial, illustrated account in a hardcover edition.

Kenmerken

• Yoshitomo Nara’s prominent painterly practice
• Diverse media: painting, drawing, sculpture, installation
• Large-eyed, defiant child figures as motif
• Thematic focus: home, isolation, belonging, resilience
• Expanded Hayward Gallery retrospective, UK debut at public institution

Informatie over publicatie

• Auteur: Yeewan Koon
• Uitgever: South Bank Centre
• Pagina’s: 263
• Formaat: Hardcover, 1e druk, 2025