"I don't think art is something that you have to study. If you're moved by a work, that's enough."

Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959, Hirosaki, Japan) is a globally influential contemporary artist whose iconic paintings, drawings, and sculptures of wide-eyed children and animals have established him as one of the most recognizable and beloved artists of his generation. Known for his deceptively simple style that blends elements of Japanese manga, punk rock aesthetics, and psychological depth, Nara has created a distinctive visual vocabulary that resonates across cultural boundaries.

Growing up in rural post-war Japan, Nara spent much of his childhood in solitude, developing a rich imaginative world influenced by Western music, comics, and illustrated children's books. After studying at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music in Japan, Nara moved to Germany in 1988, where he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorfunder A.R. Penck until 1993. This period in Germany significantly shaped his artistic development, exposing him to European art movements while reinforcing his connection to Japanese visual culture.

Nara emerged on the international art scene in the mid-1990s, often associated with the Japanese "Superflat" movement, though his work stands apart through its emotional complexity and distinctive personal vision. What appears initially as simple, child-like imagery reveals, upon closer examination, complex psychological states that oscillate between vulnerability and defiance, innocence and wisdom.

His work gained significant international attention following his participation in the landmark exhibition "Superflat" curated by Takashi Murakami in 2000. Since then, Nara has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions worldwide, with his work increasingly commanding record prices at auction. In 2020, LACMA organized "Yoshitomo Nara," the artist's first major survey exhibition in North America.

Yoshitomo Nara,Midnight Fever, 2017. PHOTO KEIZO KIOKU/©2017 YOSHITOMO NARA/COURTESY THE ARTIST/NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON D.C., GIFT OF LISA AND STEVE TANNANBAUM