Yoshitomo Nara Hirosaki, Japan, b. 1959

These images, at once direct and psychologically charged, articulate a persistent interest in individuality, imagination, and emotional autonomy.

In 1987, Nara graduated from Aichi University of the Arts. From 1988 to 1993, he continued his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, an experience that proved formative in shaping his artistic outlook and situating his practice within an international context.

Nara draws on a wide spectrum of references, including Edo-period ukiyo-e prints, Buddhist altars, global consumer culture, personal childhood memories, and music genres such as folk, rock, and punk. These sources are not quoted directly but absorbed into a visual language centered on emotional states—particularly loneliness, resistance, and quiet rebellion. His practice spans painting, drawing, photography, large-scale installations, and sculpture, working with materials such as ceramic, bronze, and fiber-reinforced plastic.

International recognition came largely through the Furious Girls series, in which Nara depicts young female figures rendered in a deliberately simplified, cartoon-like style. With piercing gazes, bared teeth, or objects such as knives held in hand, these characters oscillate between innocence and threat. While their appearance recalls comics and animation, they resist fixed interpretation, shifting between mischievous, melancholic, and confrontational personas.