Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara has unveiled a new suite of paintings and drawings at BLUM‘s Shibuya outpost. The latest showcase is notably inspired by Nara’s large-scale sculptures, as well as the cutouts French artist Henri Matisse embarked on at the end of his life.
I Draw the Line presents Nara’s familiar wide-eyed characters in loose gestural strokes, accompanied by haiku-like phrases in both English and Japanese, from “CHEER FOR YOU” to “WE ARE OUTLAWS YES!” Each composition is created on found wood panels, a medium that the artist favors for its familiarity and ease of use, as he looks to emphasize utilizing sustainable practices and the unexpected effects that wood grain adds to his subjects. While his work can at times be meticulous, such as his richly detailed painting, Midnight Vampire (1999), Nara latest works were created using Sakura paint markers whilst he stayed in Toya, a village in southern Hokkaido, that resembled the rural village he grew up just outside of Aomori.
“The sea, mountains, and steam-emitting volcanoes echo Nara’s deep-rootedness in the local terrain and his concern for the environment,” explained BLUM in a statement. “A girl wears a wolf-like balaclava, recalling an animal now extinct in Japan. A child’s face has cat’s eyes and fangs that echo indigenous folklore. Other earlier motifs recur—the house with a pitched roof, a fir tree, and puddles — revealing Nara’s continuity of thought throughout his stylistic development.”
Deceptively simple, Nara’s childlike practice is layered with activist messaging, such as the countercultural movements he was a part of during the 1950s and ’60s, as well as his stance against war and nuclear weapons that persist today. I Draw the Line will be on view at BLUM Tokyo until January 11, 2025.
BLUM
Harajuku Jingu-no-Mori 5F,
1-14-34 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku Tokyo
