Viewing Yoshitomo Nara: Pinacoteca

Yoshitomo Nara is best known for his unsettling portraits of young children that blend old and new ideas of Japanese identity. Seemingly innocent at first glance, a closer look reveals a darker side to these genderless figures, who brandish knives, smoke cigarettes and glance menacingly at the viewer. They function as a kind of self-portrait. As Nara once said of his work, ‘I kind of see the children among other, bigger, bad people all around them, who are holding bigger knives.’

Coinciding with the artist’s major retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a new solo exhibition at Pace. Utilising the full expanse of Pace’s new London gallery, it features a diverse range of recent paintings, sculpture, works on cardboard and a major new multi-room installation: Pinacoteca 2021.

One of only 15 in existence, the installation is decorated on the inside with newly created paintings on wood and canvas as well as drawings on paper, used envelopes, and cardboard boxes. On the outside walls hang new paintings on wood which are stylistically simpler and more graphic than the works inside the installation.

With this multi-room structure that imitates an exhibition space, Nara questions traditional ideas about the role of art and the relationship between space and artwork. Whether you’re a fan of his style or not, this exhibition will make you stop and stare. Nip in when you can.