Yoshitomo Nara Exhibition Opens at Hayward Gallery

More than 150 paintings, sculptures, and hard-to-categorize treasures drop into London for the artist’s first U.K. exhibition, on view through August 31.

Sleepless Night (Sitting), 1997, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery
Sleepless Night (Sitting), 1997, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery

Walk into the Hayward Gallery and every wall stares back. Big-eyed children, scrawled slogans, a watchful papier-mâché dog: the largest European survey of Yoshitomo Nara has landed with more than four decades of work on show.

Who is Nara? Born in Aomori in 1959, he finished an MFA at Aichi University of the Arts, moved to Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1988, lived in Cologne, and returned to Japan in 2000. Those miles, and a lifetime of late-night radio, still vibrate under every surface.

Yoshitomo Nara seated in front of TOBIU, 2019, donated by the artist to the TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art auction, 2021 | Source: Yoshitomo Nara Foundation
Yoshitomo Nara seated in front of TOBIU, 2019, donated by the artist to the TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art auction, 2021 | Source: Yoshitomo Nara Foundation

Curator Yung Ma lets the pieces mingle rather than march by year. Nara himself calls the approach “anything goes,” a fitting frame for paintings, cardboard sketches, and ceramics that refuse tidy categories.

Yoshitomo Nara, Fountain of Life, 2001/2014/2022 | Source: Yoshitomo Nara Foundation
Yoshitomo Nara, Fountain of Life, 2001/2014/2022 | Source: Yoshitomo Nara Foundation
Missing in Action, 1999, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery
Missing in Action, 1999, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery

Too Young to Die, 2001, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery
Too Young to Die, 2001, by Yoshitomo Nara | Source: Hayward Gallery
Installation view of Yoshitomo Nara. Harmless Kitty, 1994 | Photo by Mark Blower | Source: Hayward Gallery
Installation view of Yoshitomo NaraHarmless Kitty, 1994 | Photo by Mark Blower | Source: Hayward Gallery

Highlights come fast. “My Drawing Room,” a shrunken studio cluttered with vinyl sleeves and coffee cups, drops visitors into the artist’s after-hours routine. Nearby, “Fountain of Life,” a tower of ceramic heads in steady tears, turns sorrow into sculpture. Politics stay close to the skin. A girl in a “NO WAR” tee grips a guitar like a shield, lyrics hide in the margins, and the peace movement hums beneath the paint.

My Drawing Room, 2008, Bedroom Included, 2008, by Yoshitomo Nara. Installation, mixed media | Source: Hayward Gallery
My Drawing Room, 2008, Bedroom Included, 2008, by Yoshitomo Nara. Installation, mixed media | Source: Hayward Gallery
Installation view of ‘Yoshitomo Nara’ | Photo by Mark Blower | Source: Hayward Gallery
Installation view of ‘Yoshitomo Nara’ | Photo by Mark Blower | Source: Hayward Gallery

“Yoshitomo Nara” runs at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London, from 10 June to 31 August 2025. Tickets start at £20; members enter free.