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No one out there looks like Yoshitomo Nara. The Japanese artist has created an aesthetic that is entirely his own over the course of his four-decade career, a lifetime filled with big-eyed, cartoony punk rock figures and weird, haunting but adorable animals, and now he’s getting his dues with a huge show at the Hayward Gallery this summer.
This will be Nara’s first show at a public institution in the UK (though his 2021 exhibition at Pace Gallery was pretty damn good) and will feature not only drawing and painting but installation work too, for an almost immersive journey into his strange world.
Nara’s work is a mixture of childlike innocence and aggressive rebellion, with a foot so firmly planted in comic book traditions that the art world’s never really known how to handle him. Too kitschy and throwaway for art snobs, too serious and weird for comic fans, but still hugely popular. His work is mysterious, unsettling, adorable, political and totally unique – it will be a genuine highlight of the summer.
Yoshitomo Nara is the Hayward Gallery, Jun 10-Aug 31. More details here.
Can’t wait? Here are the top 10 exhibitions you can see right now.
Plus: Battersea Power Station is getting a brand new immersive exhibition space.
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