In collaboration with The University of Hong Kong Museum Society, Dr. Yeewan Koon, author of the monograph Nara Yoshitomo (Phaidon, 2020) shared her research on Nara and her experience of working with the artist. In conversation with Catherine Kwai, the lecture followed with a guided tour at Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery.
Renowned for the big-headed girls, Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan's most iconic artists of our time. Inspired by music, literature, childhood memories, Nara explores the themes of isolation, rebellion, and spirituality through painting, sculpture, ceramic and installation. This talk provided an introduction to his practice, the events that have shaped them, and the new directions being taken in his artworks. This lecture was also a lesson in examining and discussing his works by looking closely at how he paints and to use our discoveries to enrich our understanding of Yoshitomo Nara.
SPEAKER
Dr. Yeewan Koon Associate Professor
Dr. Koon is the Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History at The University of Hong Kong. She has published numerous works including Nara Yoshitomo (2020), A Chinese Canton? Painting the Local in Export Art (2018) and A Defiant Brush: Su Renshan and the Politics of Painting in 19th Century Guangdong (2014). She is the recipient of several research awards including a Fulbright Senior Fellowship, American Council of Learned Scholars, and visiting scholarships at Cambridge University and Columbia University. Dr. Koon also works in the contemporary art field as a critic and curator. In 2014, she was guest curator of It Begins with Metamorphosis: Xu Bing at the Asia Society, Hong Kong Center, and was one of the selected curators for the 12th Gwangju Biennale, 2018. She had worked on an international exhibition of Hong Kong art in 2021.
WHO IS YOSHITOMO NARA?
Date and time
21 April 2021 5 - 7PM
Location
Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, 11/F, Asia One Tower, 8 Fung Yip Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong