AM stopped by again at the Park Avenue Armory to check up on the progress of Yoshitomo Nara and YNG/graf during this week’s “Open Studio” session. This time, we got to take full pictures detailing some of the amazing strides made in the past two days since we last visited the crew. Nara’s of pseudo workspace was filled with what looks to be completed works on paper, most of which will be added to the upcoming retrospective at Asia Society in two weeks.

We also got to meet with co-curator Miwako Tezuka to discuss some of the exhibition details. Apparently YNG has a few surprises coming down the pipeline as there multiple installations planned. What we can tell you is that YNG is going old school in the spirit of the retrospective and bringing back “Home”. For those that don’t know, “Home” is the very first collaboration between Nara & YNG in 2005. Other installation features will include a looping photo montage of Nara’s photographs of children (a likely source of inspiration for his works). All in all, what’s planned looks to be epic, so definitely make plans to attend the opening on September 9th.

Check out a preview of the pieces for the retrospective and a very special Nara giveaway after the jump.


Lucky fans in New York on September 13th, will have an opportunity to attend a special Gala “Dessert & Dance” Benefit at Asia Society with Nara & gang. With guest DJ Yo La Tengo, Japanese punk band High Teen Boogie, and gourmet desserts provided by ChikaLicious & Michael Allen, you can’t go wrong. To top it off, the first 50 tickets sold (more than half have already gone) will receive a special edition poster signed by Nara. The images are the Nara classics “Pyromaniacs” & “Lonely” with 25 of each signed by Nara.

Pyromaniacs

Pyromaniacs

Lonely

Lonely

Our friends at Asia Society has given us a few Nara invite packets to share with our readers. These exclusive invites filled with Nara goodies are only sent out to regular museum patrons. To win simply tell us what city/country you’re from by September 8th. We’ll pick 3 winners randomly here, on our forum, and on our facebook page.

Discuss Yoshitomo Nara here.