- 516
NARA YOSHITOMO | Big Pup Head
Estimate
1,750,000 - 2,000,000 HKD
bidding is closed
Description
- Yoshitomo Nara
- Big Pup Head
- urethane on FRP
- 150 by 123 by 125 cm; 59 by 48⅜ by 49¼ in.
Executed in 2007, this work is number 2 from an edition of 2
Provenance
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
Yoshitomo Nara: The Complete Works 1984 – 2010, Volume I, Bijutsu Shuppan Sha, Tokyo, Japan, 2011, p. 287, illustrated in colour
Condition
This work is in very good condition. There are minor media accretion and gentle surface irregularities upon close inspection.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
"The little girl and the big puppy each found a friend. And they were friends forever…No matter how alone you are, there is always someone, somewhere, waiting to meet you.”
The Lonesome Puppy, Nara Yoshitomo, 1999
Big Pup Head features the emblematic sleeping dog from Nara Yoshitomo’s cast of characters. A recurring figure in the artist’s oeuvre, the whimsical dog appears often in Nara’s creations and has been rendered in life-size sculpture form as well as being featured as the hero of Nara’s first illustrated book for children, The Lonesome Puppy. The adorably illustrated book tells the story of a puppy so large that no one sees him – until a determined little girl climbs high enough to meet him and become his friend. The present lot recalls not only this sweet tale but also encapsulates Nara’s epochal and universally resonant oeuvre.
Nara was born in 1959 in Hirosaki in the Aomori Prefecture. His formative years were marked—if not marred—by intense feelings of isolation: born to emotionally distant workaholic parents in post-war Japan and growing up as the youngest of three sons by a drastic age difference, Nara’s childhood was, for the most part, spent alone. The artist once admitted in an interview: “When you are a kid, you are too young to know you are lonely, sad, and upset… Now I know I was.” Transforming his intense feelings into art, Nara immortalized his loneliness into endearing creations that quickly gained an explosive worldwide cult following. Whether portraying young solitary children or animals, Nara’s creations merge anime, Pop Art and punk rock, combining mischief and innocence to convey a beguiling sugary sweetness on the surface that melts to reveal darker angsts. While immediately reminiscent of Pop and exuding an undeniable Lichtenstein-esque vibe, the artist’s reductive figurations draw also on Modernism’s sign-like shorthand language of images to leaving endless space for fantasy for the child as well as the adult viewer.
The Lonesome Puppy, Nara Yoshitomo, 1999
Big Pup Head features the emblematic sleeping dog from Nara Yoshitomo’s cast of characters. A recurring figure in the artist’s oeuvre, the whimsical dog appears often in Nara’s creations and has been rendered in life-size sculpture form as well as being featured as the hero of Nara’s first illustrated book for children, The Lonesome Puppy. The adorably illustrated book tells the story of a puppy so large that no one sees him – until a determined little girl climbs high enough to meet him and become his friend. The present lot recalls not only this sweet tale but also encapsulates Nara’s epochal and universally resonant oeuvre.
Nara was born in 1959 in Hirosaki in the Aomori Prefecture. His formative years were marked—if not marred—by intense feelings of isolation: born to emotionally distant workaholic parents in post-war Japan and growing up as the youngest of three sons by a drastic age difference, Nara’s childhood was, for the most part, spent alone. The artist once admitted in an interview: “When you are a kid, you are too young to know you are lonely, sad, and upset… Now I know I was.” Transforming his intense feelings into art, Nara immortalized his loneliness into endearing creations that quickly gained an explosive worldwide cult following. Whether portraying young solitary children or animals, Nara’s creations merge anime, Pop Art and punk rock, combining mischief and innocence to convey a beguiling sugary sweetness on the surface that melts to reveal darker angsts. While immediately reminiscent of Pop and exuding an undeniable Lichtenstein-esque vibe, the artist’s reductive figurations draw also on Modernism’s sign-like shorthand language of images to leaving endless space for fantasy for the child as well as the adult viewer.