If last year’s many virtual art exhibitions and online art events had made you wonder when you can once again browse artworks physically, art lovers in Taiwan are in luck.

Japanese contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara will soon stage his first-ever special exhibition in Taipei, from March to June 2021, at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts.

Miss Moonlight chosen as the poster image of the exhibition

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association joins hands with The General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) to foster the friendship between Taiwan and Japan, through a series of activities, highlighted by the upcoming Yoshitomo Nara exhibition. 

While more details on the exhibits will have to come at a later stage, Miss Moonlight is set to be the star of the show. The sensational 2020 acrylic painting, measuring 220 x 195 cm, is making its debut outside of Japan, after its appearance at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.

Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts

Yoshitomo Nara is the most expensive artist in Japan. His works have always shown strong resilience at auctions, buoyed by Knife Behind Back, which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for HK$195.7m (US$25m) in 2019 and remains as his current record.

Yoshitomo Nara (B. 1959) | Knife Behind Back, 2000

Sold for HK$195,696,000, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2019

Yoshitomo Nara, a Japanese artist known for his paintings of children that appear adorable but at the same time, a little sinister. Behind the intense gaze from the girl’s wide doe-eyes, one can almost sense the subtle melancholic expression and her loneliness.

As the youngest child of working parents, Nara spent much of his time in solitude with little to do but explore the depths of his imagination. The signature style in his oeuvre was first developed during his lonesome years in Germany, which reminded him of his childhood. The sensation captured slowly manifested itself from the ‘90s, into the character’s signature bob cut, pudgy cheeks, and almond-eyes.

Yoshitomo Nara Exhibition

Venue: 2F Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei National University of the Arts

Dates: March 12 - June 20, 2021