Japanese artist's painting of a little girl worth over two million USD

Hong Kong Painting by artist Yoshitomo Nara was hammered for 18.6 million HKD (more than 2.3 million USD).

At Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on April 6, the work Guitar Girl on the Ice by Yoshitomo Nara is the most expensive piece in the collection.

The famous artist created the painting in 1994, measuring 100.5 x 100.5 cm. In the painting, a little girl with short hair, big eyes, and chubby cheeks is holding a guitar and standing on an ice block, showing a strong contrast to her cute appearance.

''Guitar Girl on the Ice''. Photo: Sotheby's

According to the auction house, the painting is a typical example of the artist's prominent theme of depicting the solitary figure of a child in an empty space. In addition, the work marks a change in Yoshitomo Nara's technique from the neo-expressionist style of his early works to the delicate lines and colors of his later works.

Yoshitomo Nara, 64, was born in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Since childhood, the artist was quiet, often looking at the sky, talking to cats and dogs, or confiding in trees. He often avoided other people, and liked to write and draw random things on books.

He graduated from the Aichi University of Fine Arts and Music in Japan, then continued to study painting at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany. During his 12 years in Europe, Yoshitomo Nara's deepest impression was loneliness. He once said: ''When I was in Germany, I was alone like when I was a child, the sky was gray, very cold. I hardly communicated with anyone, I didn't like to talk but thought a lot. I couldn't express my feelings. Loneliness and distance from people were the driving force behind my creations.''

Artnews website commented that since the 1990s, Yoshitomo Nara began making a series of works of girls with large heads, chubby faces, sometimes pouting, sometimes angry or with cold expressions.

The characters in the famous artist's paintings seem to reflect the stages of his life and memories. In an interview with Design Anthology magazine, he said: "I long to be good in the eyes of others, but I am always shy and do not dare to be myself. Therefore, I express that in my paintings."

Yoshitomo Nara's paintings of little girls are always sought after by collectors, with many paintings reaching millions of dollars. In 2019, the work Knife Behind Back caused a stir when it was sold for 24.9 million USD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, making Yoshitomo Nara "Japan's most expensive artist".

Phuong Linh

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