The Eternal Youth of Yoshitomo Nara

Louisa Elderton | artnet news | 11th July 2024

One critic says Nara’s “simple cartoony/illustrative paintings … have a depth that is a match for any contemporary painter”. That’s bold. Several writers note that his child-like characters “teeter between innocence and defiance”, but what are the “profound emotional and social themes” that they illuminate? Perhaps this show will fare better in London but this writer seems sceptical: “Nara’s bold dynamism peters out … with later paintings marred with sentimentalism.”