Acrylic on canvas

73 x 60.5 cm. 28 3/4 x 23 5/6 in.

Signed in Japanese and dated on the reverse

LITERATURE
2011, Yoshitomo Nara: The Complete Works, vol. 1: Painting, Sculptures, Editions, Photographs 1984 - 2010, Bijutsu Publishing House, Tokyo, p.219
2015, Yoshitomo Nara: Self-selected Works Paintings, Seigensha Publishing House, Kyoto, p. 131
EXHIBITED
9 Sep 2010 – 2 Jan 2011, Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody's Fool, Asia Society Museum, New York

PROVENANCE
Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo
Private Collection, Europe
25 Nov 2017, Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 53
Important Private Collection, Asia

Note: A label of Tokyo Tomio Koyama Gallery is affixed on the reverse

Story of Love and Redemption
Midnight Vampire - A Most Marvellous Piece of Yoshitomo Nara

During the 2020 Olympics in Japan, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo will hold a major exhibition titled Japanese Stars, featuring works by Yoshitomo Nara, Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama. In April 2020, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will hold a 30-year retrospective on Nara and the exhibition will then travel to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Yuz Museum Shanghai, events that are certain to boost the popularity of Yoshitomo Nara. Currently, 57-year-old Nara is not only viewed as one of Japan's most important modern artists, he has also been accepted by the broader art world both in Japan and overseas. As a result, wherever Nara's works are shown they are guaranteed box office hits. For example, this year at the Pace Gallery during Art Basel in Switzerland, the artist's works sold within seconds of the event opening, leaving many collectors disappointed. “Almost everyone wanted to buy the work by Yoshitomo Nara” said the galley owner, summing up the mood at the time.

Recalling how he became familiar with Nara, owner of the gallery Arne Glimcher relates being moved by the artist's works at the 2010 solo exhibition No Body is Fool, held by the Asia Society in New York. He points out: “In essence his paintings are related to touch, a departure from many artists of the same generation who follow Pop Art and seek to eliminate all traces of painting by hand. In contrast, the works of Nara make use of colors and brushwork that are reminiscent of Pierre Bonnard and Mark Rothko, but he makes the motifs of the pieces more glowing. Although this work contains important Western style painting elements, the solitary image, elimination of depth of field and painting-like writing are expressions of traditional Japanese art, replete with poetic meaning, making him a painter who embraces antiquity while also creating brand new images ... the child in the painting is a multilingual citizen of the world.” This also marked the beginning of the gallery's work representing Nara and introducing him to the US art world. The 2010 Asia Society exhibition was the first major art museum solo exhibition by Yoshitomo Nara in the US and thereafter he became an overnight hit, building on his existing renown in Japan and Europe to reach new heights in the US. On this occasion, the cover of the autumn auction brochure features Midnight Vampire, which was completed in 2010 and immediately shown at the exhibition – a remarkable masterpiece by Nara.

Writing Modern Art History: Immersion and Innovation in Eastern and Western Traditional Aesthetics
One year after obtaining a Master's Degree in Art from Aichi Prefectural University of the Arts in 1987, Yoshitomo Nara enrolled on an advanced program of study at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in West Germany. That marked the beginning of 12 years Nara spent in the country, during which time he developed a comprehensive understanding of Western materials, techniques and artistic thinking. Moreover, it was through this process that he found his own creative path and outlook. Many art critics have suggested that after Nara returned to Japan in 2000 his works entered a period of greater maturity, shifting from “a deep exploration of the inner self,” self dialogue and childhood memories to “radiating outwards” as the artist started to pay more attention to such wider issues as society, the environment and trends of the times, an approach that imbued his works with greater pathos. At the same time, Nara's brushwork evolved from rougher strokes to become finer and more profound. As a result, Yoshitomo Nara was able to use his uniquely iconic vocabulary, with its ability to transcend national borders and solicit universal empathy, as a vehicle to showcase the depth of connection between traditional Japanese aesthetics and Western modernism, through his innovative adaptations and Midnight Vampire is imbued with exactly these qualities.

Stood at the center of a black background flowing with dark red light, is a little girl with long hair who takes up almost the entire work. Her eyes are closed as she faces viewers, the cross on the top of her head and the small fangs protruding from the corners of her mouth denoting she is a vampire and her connection to religion. In this way, Nara uses distinctive approach to highlight the girl's tranquility, relaxation and warmth. In the painting, the artist deliberately uses a graphic depiction, with no depth of field between the figure in the foreground and the background. In this context, the simple background not only borrows from the minimalism of Western modernism and the beauty of “emptiness” in traditional Japanese aesthetics, it can also be traced back to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e painting in the nineteenth century. For example, Katsushika Hokusai's depiction of ghosts in The Ghost of Oiwa from One Hundred Ghost Tales provides an interesting contrast with the painting being auctioned. Within this stillness there is a solitary figure, and the little girl who appears to be meditating radiates an air of mystery, while also naturally displaying the unique Wabi-sabi (imperfect beauty) and Yugen aesthetic unique to Japanese tradition, which speak to the loneliness of existence, the impermanence of life, and the ultimate pursuit of the spiritual world.

As part of the dark background, Nara employs dramatic light to showcase the main figure, an extension of the “lighting method” of Western realist master Rembrandt. In addition, the girl's imposing broad forehead can be traced back to the aesthetics of The Renaissance. At that time, it was considered a standard beauty feature as seen in Lady with an Ermine and the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, both of which showcase women with foreheads that are every bit as broad as the girl in this painting by Yoshitomo Nara, which extends this distinctive aesthetic value. Moreover, the way Nara employs simplicity, two-dimensional graphics and a single image as key symbols in his narrative presents viewers with an open space into which to project their imagination. It also ingeniously dovetails with the modern anime world of Japan and the West. At this juncture, we can clearly see how the artist draws inspiration from classical Japanese and Western art, as he moves freely between tradition and modernism, Eastern and Western, employing brand new images to write an art history that belongs to him alone.

The Honor of Love, Hope and Life
“If you look only at the surface, my works will not reveal anything of their meaning”
—Yoshitomo Nara

The central figure in Midnight Vampire has fangs like a small animal, an element that rarely appears in the works of Yoshitomo Nara. Indeed, this particular detail is only found in the central protagonists of eight oil paintings, six of which are “cats.” The artist first used fangs in King of Cat (1992) and later in Sleepless Night (Cat) (1999). However, Midnight Vampire was the first time Nara elevated the central figure from that of a “cat/animal” to a “person/vampire.” Furthermore, Midnight Vampire is also the first time he depicted a vampire in his more than 30-year-long artistic career, an indication as to the special meaning of the work. Vampires originated in the folklore of medieval Europe and have often been used as a creative motifs in literature, art and movies, depicting a mysterious creature that survives by drinking blood. For example in 1895 Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch painted Vampire, a work that depicts a vampire depicting the blood of its victim, shrouded by death. In contrast, Nara chooses a completely different interpretative path.

In Midnight Vampire, the artist's depiction departs markedly from the accepted idea of what a vampire looks like, choosing to present this legendary creature of the night as a pure baby-faced being, its thin and frail-looking arms indicating its harmless nature, with an upright cross on top of its head. The “cross” is an important symbol of Christianity, imbued with “love and redemption” commonly used as a device in novels and films to destroy vampires, often thrust through the heart of the dark beast, certainly not worn as a decorative adornment as depicted by Nara. Moreover, the placement of the cross on the top of the head can be traced back to the Byzantine murals of the 12th Century, though in such instances the central character was an epitome of “goodness,” usually Jesus Christ or an angel. In this context, Yoshitomo Nara takes the vampire, a universal symbol of “evil” and fear, intriguingly elevating it to the same plane as “Jesus.” As a result, the young girl in the painting exudes warmth, a reflection of the life philosophy and values of the artist - that there is no such thing as pure evil in the world, as long as one focuses, love and hope can always be found in the human heart, even absolute evil can be transformed into sublime goodness. As such, this work is rich in meaning, profoundly moving and encourages the viewer to reflect, qualities that make it instantly unforgettable.

Price estimate:
HKD: 18,000,000 – 25,000,000
USD: 2,295,000 – 3,187,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 37,150,000