PaperCity Magazine

PaperCity_Houston_January_2021

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Page 102: Yoshitomo Nara's NO WAR, 2019; Page 104, from top: Girl with Guitar, 2019: the artist. This page, Girl with Drum Sticks, 2019. (Continued from page 104) on wood. There are several older works, the oldest dating back to 2006. The work in our show is more casual and free in appearance and technique. There are references to popular culture, the street, activism, and music. Many of the works are painted on everyday materials such as wood or cardboard. It is less formal, more youthful in spirit. We also have a wonderful selection of new sculptures in bronze that were made for this show and have never been exhibited before. Hanging the show. PA: The exhibition will be on view in Gallery 3, the big space. Nara will be present, we will be working side by side, at a safe social distance, to install the exhibition. Secrets of his studio and practice. PA: Nara lives very simply. He is also quite private. Both are rare qualities in an artist of his stature, which I admire tremendously. He does not have studio assistants. I am impressed that having the ability to work with any foundry in the world he decided to make his bronze sculptures at a university in Japan surrounded by art students. I cannot imagine another artist of his caliber doing that. Nara is unique. Influences that shaped the artist's work. PA: Nara was deeply impacted by his youth in rural Japan. He talks of a solitary childhood surrounded by nature. Music fed his soul, album covers inspired him. Art became a creative release. The tragic 2011 earthquake challenged his ability to paint on canvas. His works on canvas are highly coveted. He could not paint with the pain and tragedy that afflicted Japan. It was in sculpture, the visceral, tactile process of molding clay that he found a creative release during the tragedy. Nara has often been misunderstood as part of the Japanese cult of manga. Does your exhibition hope to dispel that myth? PA: I agree, his work is misunderstood. I am very interested in his ability to convey human emotion and sentiment. His work embodies the panorama of what we feel as living beings. Why Nara resonates with viewers. PA: The public loves his work because it is intentionally relatable. We see his work and mirror the sentiment conveyed. Looking at Nara's work is an emotional experience. The public loves him because they feel he is speaking to them through his work. The environmental and nuclear activism is very important. It demonstrates that he cares about critical issues and is outspoken about them. On what you hope viewers will take away. PA: That Nara is a master at conveying human emotion. "Yoshitomo Nara: I Forgot Their Names and Often Can't Remember Their Faces but Remember Their Voices Well," at the Dallas Contemporary, January 30 through August 22; dallascontemporary.org. 108

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