Arrested Motion

Image via TheArtCollectors

Yoshitomo Nara decided to big up his street cred before his Marianne Boesky opening by putting up some graffiti at the Union Square subway station in NY. Unfortunately, since the arrest of Shepard Fairey before his opening at the Boston ICA, throwing prominent artists in jail seems to have become all the rage. Or perhaps the NYPD were big fans of David Choe and this is just payback?

Nara spent two days in the downtown jail but was fortunately able to make his opening. His experience was described as “subsisting on peanut butter sandwiches and milk… optimistically as “a nice experience in my life like in the movies” and “a small space filled with all manner of people he would not otherwise meet” (via).

Nara Mug Shot Image via Ninja vs. Penguin

Via TWBE.

Japanese pop art superstar Yoshitomo Nara opened his new eponymously titled solo show (teased) in NYC last night. Similar to his last several exhibitions, Nara collaborated with the design firm graf to construct a gallery installation, this time consisting of two tree-like, fairytale houses: one containing a mini studio space and the other filled with stuffed animals. Of course, the show also contained plenty of new drawings and paintings of Nara’s trademark petulant girls. And special for the opening, Japanese musical groups MAGO and Oorutaichi, and New York indie-rockers Dump, performed for the packed gallery crowd.

See all the exclusive images, after the jump.

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Fresh off his LA show last December (covered), Yoshitomo Nara will be opening an exhibition tomorrow night (6-8 pm) at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York. It sounds like a fantastic show as Nara will be showing new paintings and drawings as well as more large-scale sculptures with his collaborative group YNG. The structures are described as “two immense sculptures that recall stylized tannenbaums, with their roof shingling evoking exaggerated tree needles. Small cut-out windows and hanging lights punctuate the sculptures, providing them with the feel of a house or some surreal abode. The structures are hollow and present interiors replete with drawings and paintings all created in the artist’s hand, and with a multitude of stuffed animals from fans selected by the artist.”

For those stuck on the west coast this weekend, make sure to stop by Royal/T, not only to check out the “I Can’t Feel My Face” exhibit (covered) curated by KAWS, but also to watch the special screening presented by Dailydujour of Nara’s documentary “Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara” on Sunday, March 1st at 7 pm. “The 93 minute film follows Japanese art star Yoshitomo Nara and the GRAF design team on an international road trip as part of the preparation and creation of his epic ‘A to Z’ exhibition which was held in his hometown of Hirosaki in the summer of ‘06.” We have often wished we could see it ourselves, but could not find a version subtitled in English. Check out a trailer after the jump.

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