Japanese artist's painting of a big-headed girl fetches over 16 million HKD

The painting "Big-headed Girl" by artist Yoshitomo Nara was sold at Christie's for 16.7 million HKD (about 52.8 billion VND) on September 27.

According to Christie's , painting ABC highest price at auction 21st Century Day Sale. The painting was painted by the artist in 1998, size 50.8 x 40.6 cm, material graphite on canvas. In the work, the girl is described with a frowning face, a large head, blue eyes, hair tied in two sides. The girl holds a book with a yellow cover, title ABC.

Compared to the painting with the same subject named Guitar Girl on the Ice Okay Sotheby's in Hong Kong sold 18.6 million HKD in April, ABC has a lower price. However, this is still one of the expensive paintings of girls by Yoshitomo Nara.

Also at the auction of Christie's, Two works of the same theme by the artist are Long Long Way from Your Home (2007) sold 6.3 million HKD (19.9 billion VND) and Attack the Rotten World (1995) grossed 2.5 million HKD (7.9 billion VND). In both paintings, the little girl character has a grumpy face, revealing a mischievous look.

Painting ''Long Long Way from Your Home''. Photo: Christie's

Yoshitomo Nara 64 years old, born in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Since childhood, the famous artist has been quiet, often talking to cats and dogs or confiding in trees. He often avoided others, preferring 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 During his 12 years in Europe, the artist barely communicated with anyone, living a withdrawn life like when he was a child. "I couldn't express my feelings. Loneliness and distance from people were the driving force behind my work," he said.

Page Artnews Since the 1990s, Yoshitomo Nara has been making series of works of girls with big heads, chubby faces, sometimes pouting, sometimes angry or with cold faces. Interview with magazine Design Anthology, He said: "I long to be good in the eyes of others, but I am always shy, not daring to be myself. Therefore, I express that in my paintings."

The artist has many winning drawings of little girls. million USD, of which the record is the work Knife Behind Back (2000) Sotheby's Hong Kong hammered down $24.9 million (598 billion VND) in October 2019, making him the "most expensive Japanese artist". According to The Art Story , Although the figures in Nara's paintings often appear female, he claimed they were genderless.