奈良美智四十年作品集：1984-2024 Yoshitomo Nara

 
★從繪畫、素描、雕塑、陶藝到裝置藝術，完整收錄奈良美智1984-2024年的創作歷程
★由展覽策展人Lucía Agirre、藝術史學家吉竹美香，以及青森美術館館長高橋茂美共同撰寫
 
　　深受全球藏家喜愛的日本當代藝術家－奈良美智，為當今身價最貴的日本當代藝術家之一。作為國際關注的日本新普普藝術代表，奈良美智最為人熟知的創作就是大頭大眼、天真無邪的小孩配上憤世嫉俗的表情。奈良美智創作下可愛又複雜、流露強烈情緒的個性人物，搭配強烈圖像以及龐克搖滾精神，具有高度辨識度，確立其藝術地位。
 
　　這本終極奈良美智完整作品集，蒐集奈良美智從1984年至2024年期間共四十年來的創作歷程。從繪畫、素描、雕塑、陶藝到裝置藝術，完整描述奈良美智的創作概念與對世界的詮釋。本書為2024年西班牙畢爾包的「古根漢美術館奈良美智特展」圖錄，作者為本次展覽策展人Lucía Agirre、專攻日本藝術的藝術史學家兼獨立策展人吉竹美香，以及青森美術館館長高橋茂美。
 
　　書中將奈良美智的創作分為三個時期，從1980年代在日本創作的初期作品開始，這段時間他的代表元素就已出現在作品中。接著，書中探討奈良美智在德國杜塞道夫藝術學院當藝術見習生，師事A.R. Penck學習表現主義，最後以奈良美智在2000年時返回日本創作做結尾，呈現他近期的重要作品。
 
　　奈良美智：是日本當代最著名的藝術家，創作出可愛、神秘、具有強烈精神的兒童肖像而深受歡迎，如今已成為一個社會符號，具有強大的社會影響力。他的作品奠基於他個人的成長歷史，並結合龐克、民間音樂、搖滾樂、文學、大自然，以及日本與歐洲雙重文化的影響。

Sweet yet sinister, Nara’s paintings of children and animals are beloved the world over for their punchy iconography and punk-rock spirit

This definitive monograph spans 40 years, from 1984 to the present day, in the career of the iconic artist, shedding light on Nara’s conceptual process through paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and installations that reflect his empathetic vision of the world around him. Published in conjunction with the epochal exhibition at Museo Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, this eponymous monograph divides Nara’s oeuvre into three chronological periods, beginning with his first artworks created in Japan in the 1980s, in which recurring elements of his personal history appear, such as his family’s house and childlike figures, developed under the influence of artists such as Takeshi Motai. The volume then highlights the artist’s fruitful stay in Germany, where Nara reacted to the isolation imposed by the language barrier while he studied and discovered German Expressionism with A.R. Penck at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and introduced in his production the central characters that would soon be recognized as part of his signature language. Finally, the monograph closes by exploring the work Nara produced after his return to Japan in 2000, presenting an essential selection of his late paintings, drawings, installations and sculptures.
Yositomo Nara (born 1959) is one of the best-known Japanese artists of his generation; his characteristic portraits of adorable, enigmatic or threatening childlike figures have become revered icons with potent social implications. Nara creates traditionally crafted art rooted in his childhood and personal history; underground punk, folk and rock music; literature and nature, as well as European and Japanese art history.