Yoshitomo Nara, Sheep from Your Dream, 1997. Fiberglass, resin, wood, lacquer paint, and cotton, 18 x 20 x 11 inches. Courtesy Lindemann Collection, Miami Beach.
Yoshitomo Nara, Round-Eyed Pilot, 1997. Fiberglass, resin, wood, lacquer paint, and cotton, 18½ x 17 x 11½ inches. Collection of Jacob and Ruth Bloom, Los Angeles.
Yoshitomo Nara, Grinning Little Bunny, 1997. Fiberglass, resin, wood, lacquer paint, and cotton, 24 x 23 x 14 inches. Collection of Jacob and Ruth Bloom, Los Angeles.
Yoshimoto Nara: Nothing Ever Happens, installation view, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, December 3, 2004–February 27, 2005.

Yoshitomo Nara

Nothing Ever Happens

Dec 3, 2004 – Feb 27, 2005

This traveling exhibition presents a selection of work over the past 10 years of one of Japan’s most prominent artists, Yoshitomo Nara. Known for his anime drawings of “tough” girls, his cartoon-like dog sculptures, and his inventive artists’ books, Nara includes over 20 works in painting, drawing, and sculpture in this exhibition. Nara’s work references childhood and is characterized by a flat, graphic style, but his artistic influences reveal a much broader range, including Renaissance painting, literature, illustration, graffiti and punk rock. Nara’s works highlight the manic fear, anxiety, simplicity, fantasy, and escape that defines childhood and leaves its remnants on the adult psyche. A full-color catalog accompanies the exhibition with essays from pop cultural icons such as Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, author Dave Eggers, and Debbie Harry, front-woman of Blondie.

Yoshitomo Nara: Nothing Ever Happens is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

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