Coloured pencil and ink on paper

25.8 x 36.3cm 10 1/6 x 14 2/7 in.

Titled, dated and signed in Japanese on bottom right; inscribed on upper right
PROVENANCE
Hakutosha Gallery, Nagoya
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Rabbit Hills, Tokyo
Note: A label of Nagoya Hakutosha Gallery is affixed on the reverse

A Journey Among Little Stars

Yoshitomo Nara was born on December 5, 1959 in Hirosaki (a town in the western part of Aomori Prefecture, Japan), where he lived until graduating from high school. Due to Hirosaki's famous heavy snow, Nara got used to drawing in solitude. “If I were born in one of the southern regions where it does not snow like in Hirosaki, I don't think I would have stayed at home and drawn as I did,” so even though his artistic creations became widely recognized later by the outside world, he can still quietly work in solitude, watching the scenery outside. In 1988, Nara graduated from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in Germany and set up a studio in Cologne. Both the cold climate and the unfamiliar language isolated him from the outside world, just as when he was a child, allowing his inner world to blossom. Sun, Moon and Many Stars, featured in this auction, was created in 1995 and is a representative work on paper of Nara's German period.

Sun, Moon and Many Stars features bright colors and rich pattern elements. In the bottom left corner, the artist drew a warm sun with yellow and orange colored pencils. Using a black ball pen, he depicted the sun's rays, some of which radiate toward the earth. The earth is full of wonders, such as large blue clouds and colorful rainbows; Nara utilized artistic symbols to express the fascinating mysteries of nature. The white puppy in the picture is Nara's friend present throughout his artistic career, and the artist shares the treasured time spent with him with his viewers. The colorful stars, scattered between the sun and the earth as if dancing in the night sky, create a romantic atmosphere. The artist depicted these beautiful elements of his life — the sun, the earth, the stars, the puppy — on paper, creating a wonderful mini-universe. Though Nara is a shy introvert, he longs for the infinite expanse of the cosmos, and this work embodies such longing.

Price estimate:
HKD: 350,000 –450,000
USD: 44,600 – 57,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --