Marker on paper

18.7 × 13.1 cm. 7 3/8 × 5 1/8 in.

Signed in Japanese and dated on the bottom
PROVENANCE
Important Private Collection, Asia

Glancing Back with An Open Mind
Yoshitomo Nara's Highlighted Treasures on Paper

The Museum of Modern Art in New York once purchased 29 Nara's paper works at one time, marking the recognition of the art circle. In this auction, we would walk into his rich inner world together through his four paper creations from different periods.

Fairy Tale of Adults

Give Me Money (Lot 13) completed in 1997 is a storytelling and wonderful sketch work. In the painting, an old man with a baseball cap and a beard stands on a young horse. The horse is wearing a long scarf marked by the anti-war symbol. Its big eyes and long eyelashes seem to be able to speak, and it can read his master's mind in the blink of an eye. The old man is holding a long fishing rod, and the bait hanging in front of the horse is a poster with a smiling face. In the lower left corner, a tin can with the Japanese word “¥” (money) is half-filled with coins, drawing the viewers' perspective to the “passing-by spectator level”, and enjoying this funny but playful and somewhat critical performance. Although the title of the work bluntly expresses the desire for money, the painting guides the passionate old man and the horse forward with a simple smiling face, symbolizing the pure beauty of life.

In the Great World, With the Childish Love

As two representatives of Japanese art, Nara and the well-known writer Banana Yoshimoto have become friends since the 1990s. From 1999 to 2002, Nara painted covers for Banana's trilogy novels. Untitled (Lot 11) presented this time is a piece of work that the artist painted for the opening chapter of the trilogy Relentless/Bad Luck. With minimalist lines, the young boy's “cynic” eyes are full of curiosity and contemplation of the world. As a testimony of Nara and Yoshimoto's friendship, Untitled has a of special significance in artist's career.

Lonely Time, Joyful Life

“Puppy” is an important subject in Nara's creation. In Dog on the Building (Lot 12), the artist uses a marker pen to outline a dog on a shining gold paper through minimal lines. The puppy is on the skyscraper, with a deliberately enlarged body. The illogical proportion resembles that it is standing on the top of the world, closing its eyes, leaning forward, enjoying a moment of leisure time alone. The building is a product of the post-modern industrial revolution, symbolizing the achievements of civilization and architecture. Standing on a high place brings high pressure as well, however, sometimes we may just need a joyful moment. The powerful mental status has been actualized on the paper.

A Bit Like You, A Bit Like Me

In 2012, Nara held large-scale retrospective exhibitions A Bit Like you And Me in Aomori, Kumamoto, and Yokohama, Japan, in which, a series of 13 Sketch for Sculpture were particularly eye-catching, Sketch for Sculpture (lot 15) is one of them.

In the painting, Nara uses a pencil to outline the face of a little boy and carefully portrays him to create a three-dimensional impression. His eyes do not look directly at the viewers, with an ignorant and childish sense hidden inside. His nose and mouth are flat, and his face has no expression, yet revealing the maturity that is not common for the age. Such a state of contradiction often appears in his works, echoing the contrasts between sophistication and naivety, freedom and loneliness, suppression and liberation in his works. Nara strengths the concept of “sculpture” in this work, portraying a three-dimensional figure with the “scene sense”. The charcoal smudge on his face not only depicts the texture and three-dimensionality of the shape, but also resembles the blush on his cheeks. The work echoes the title of the exhibition, A Bit Like You and Me, reminding the viewers themselves of the little boy inside, galloping along the road of growth, singing the melody of life, with regretless smiles and tears.

Price estimate:
HKD: 20,000 - 40,000
USD: 2,600 - 5,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 42,000