Yoshitomo Nara between Manga and Art

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

I like to define contemporary art as one that directly expresses the society in which we live. The mangas are popular drawings close to comics, in which the Japanese love to find their qualities and their defects, and above all their hopes.

The child is king in Japan. Yoshitomo Nara shows him in a style clearly inspired by manga, with a large head, expressive like a serious adult occupied with contemporary activities.

On October 6, Sotheby's Hong Kong is auctioning a work out of standards, estimated 3.8 MHK$. It is a large wood panel, 1.72 x 3.72 m, an exceptional size in the work of this artist.

The composition is also unusual. The child is in the right side. He plays guitar, climbed onto a little platform on which is inscribed the title "It's everything" (there's nothing else that matters). The background is striped like a musical stave, and the left side shows only the figures 1.2.3.4. symbolizing the rhythm.

Nara is a fan of punk music, as everyone knows. This nice work done in 2008 is making reference to a truly contemporary social theme.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

I thought this lot would exceed the estimate: it was not the case. Result: 4 MHK$ premium included. The unusual format has not been enough to excite the market, probably rightly because the whole left side was so empty. So let the artist return to more classical compositions.