Lamp Flower
Yoshitomo Nara
1994
- YEAR:1994
- MEDIUM:Oil on canvas
- DIMENSIONS:98.1 × 193 cm
Introduction
Yoshitomo Nara is one of the most influential Japanese artists of our time, and his works are characterized by his signature image of the innocent, quirky, and alienated child, opening an in-depth exploration of human nature. Lamp Flower was born after Nara’s famous image, The Girl with the Knife in Her Hand. It is a work that dates to the formative stage of Nara’s iconic style and pictorial language. In the painting, the girl holds a long stem of flowers, guiding the viewer’s gaze. The flower transforms into a lamp, and while her eyelids droop, giving her an expression of submission and indifference, the flower’s light subtly conveys an optimistic mood. The girl and the flower float against an ethereal blue-green background, which enhances the sense of timelessness and renders her at once close to and distant from the viewer.
