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Yoshitomo Nara (Japanese, b.1959)
LOT ID: 80316
Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed), 2008

Offset lithograph
28.3 х 20.5 in. cm.
Unsigned
Foundry/Publisher Centre of Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
Lot description
"Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed)", (2008) is a pair of two offset color lithographs by Japanese Contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara (Hirosaki, b.1959). This set of prints are a sublime example of Nara's distinctive style that draws on both classical Japanese woodcuts and pulp/pop comics that typically features wide-eyed, young children. Each print measures 28.30 x 20.50 inches (72 x 52 cm), both are unframed and in excellent condition. All prints from this limited edition of 500 are unsigned and unnumbered.

Yoshitomo Nara first came to the forefront of the art world during Japan’s Pop art movement in the 1990s. The subject matter of his sculptures and paintings is deceptively simple: most works depict one seemingly innocuous subject (often pastel-hued children and animals drawn with confident, cartoonish lines) with little or no background. But these children, who appear at first to be cute and even vulnerable, sometimes brandish weapons like knives and saws. Their wide eyes often hold accusatory looks that could be sleepy-eyed irritation at being awoken from a nap—or that could be undiluted expressions of hate.The artist views children are metaphors for a world marked with confusion and helplessness towards an unknowable future. In much of his work, he is also commenting on the psychological repercussions World War II on Japanese society.

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY)
Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego, CA)
Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX)

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Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed) by Yoshitomo Nara
  • Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed) by Yoshitomo Nara
  • Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed) by Yoshitomo Nara
  • Cosmic Girls (Eyes Open/Eyes Closed) by Yoshitomo Nara
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  • Yoshitomo Nara

    Cosmic girl (Eyes open, eyes shut) (2 works)
    color offset lithographic posters
    (H 28.3, W 20.5) in.
    (72 x 52) cm.
    Ed. ed.500
    Sold for: US$2,415
    Wednesday, December 05, 2012
    Christie's South Kensington
    Lot 00382
  • Yoshitomo Nara

    Cosmic Girl (Eyes Open, Eyes Shut) (2 works)
    color offset lithographic posters
    (H 28.3, W 20.5) in.
    (72 x 52) cm.
    Ed. ed.500
    Sold for: US$8,503
    Thursday, September 20, 2012
    Christie's South Kensington
    Lot 00315
  • Yoshitomo Nara

    Cosmic Girl Eyes (Close/Open)
    print
    (H 26.8, W 18.9) in.
    (68 x 48) cm.
    Ed. ed.500
    Sold for: US$4,070
    Sunday, June 03, 2012
    Ravenel
    Lot 00183
  • Yoshitomo Nara

    Cosmic girl (+ another; 2 works)
    color offset lithograph
    (H 28.3, W 20.9) in.
    (72 x 53) cm.
    Ed. ed.500
    Sold for: US$3,099
    Sunday, June 26, 2011
    Hosane Auction Co. Ltd.
    Lot 01213
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