Untitled (Who Snatched the Babies) by Yoshitomo Nara
Explore Mondoir Collection
Medium: Pen & Coloured Pencil on Paper
Dimensions: 29.5 x 21 cm
Year: 2002
Price on request
Status: available
- Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York - Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale 2017 - Acquired from Curator Style Hong Kong This work was exhibited in: (vi) New York, Asia Society Museum, Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody's Fool, 9 September 2010 - 2 January 2011, p. 211 (illustrated) Literature: Yoshitomo Nara: The Complete Works Volume 2: Works on Paper 1984 – 2010, Tokyo, 2011, (i) p. 189, no. D-2002-138 (illustrated); (ii) p. 189, no. D-2002-134 (illustrated); (iii) p. 189, no. D-2002-140 (illustrated); (iv) p. 189, no. D-2002-143 (illustrated); (v) p. 189, no. D-2002-128 (illustrated); (vi) p. 188, no. D-2002-125 (illustrated) Who Snatched the Babies? Yoshitomo Nara, exh. cat., Impression Jouve, Paris; Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, 2002, (iv) p. 10 (illustrated); (v) p. 42 (illustrated)
Why collect this work?
A central figure is organized between two contrasting systems: loose marks and question marks circulate above, while crossed yellow forms establish a firm geometry below. Uncertainty is pictured spatially rather than explained as a story.
- Nara reduces the scene to a childlike figure, emphatic facial features, and graphic signs. The enlarged blue eyes and downturned mouth register attention or concern, but do not disclose a definite emotion or cause.
- In the photograph, looping lines occupy the upper field around four red question marks. The figure remains centered beneath them, with forearms positioned over two crossed forms whose exact function is ambiguous.
- The documented pen and coloured pencil on paper support a contrast between dark contours and areas of lightly applied colour. Variations in line weight keep writing, symbol, figure, and structure on the same graphic plane.
- At 29.5 by 21 centimetres, this 2002 drawing concentrates attention on how minimal signs can imply a predicament. It is particularly useful for examining where readable emotion ends and narrative projection begins.
About the Artist
Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara is an artist featured in the Mondoir Collection.
Nationality: Japanese
Contemporary artist known for whimsical, childlike figures in his work.
