Early Works
11 works
Yoshitomo Nara Slash With A Knife For Sale
Yoshitomo Nara
Slash With A Knife, 1999
About this work
Yoshitomo Nara's *Slash With A Knife* from 1999 exemplifies the Japanese artist's most provocative and sought-after period, when his visual language reached full maturity. The work features one of Nara's characteristic wide-eyed children, rendered with deceptive simplicity yet charged with unmistakable menace. Clutching a blade, the figure embodies the tension between innocence and aggression that has become synonymous with Nara's practice—a duality that continues to resonate deeply with collectors worldwide. Emerging from the artist's formative years in Düsseldorf and shaped by his immersion in punk rock and underground music culture, works from this era carry a raw emotional intensity. The flat, cartoon-like aesthetic belies a profound psychological complexity; these are not mere illustrations but confrontations with childhood's darker undercurrents. Nara's children refuse victimhood, instead projecting defiance and autonomy through their oversized eyes and weaponized accessories. Pieces from the late 1990s occupy a particularly significant position within the market, representing the moment when Nara's artistic identity crystallized into the visual vocabulary now recognized across contemporary art circles. *Slash With A Knife* stands as a prime example of the rebellious spirit and emotional authenticity that have driven sustained international demand for the artist's work. For acquisition inquiries regarding this important work by Yoshitomo Nara, please contact Guy Hepner.
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- 1999
About Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959, Hirosaki, Japan) stands as one of the most influential figures in contemporary Japanese art, whose deceptively simple portraits of wide-eyed children—at once innocent and subversively defiant—have become icons of the Neo-Pop movement. Trained in Düsseldorf and deeply influenced by punk rock and anime culture, Nara creates works that resonate across cultural boundaries, commanding an international collector base and record-breaking auction results. His paintings, drawings, and sculptures are held in major museum collections worldwide, cementing his position as a defining voice in 21st-century art.