Nara Yoshitomo

Arguably one of the most enthralling of this generation of Japanese contemporary artists, Yoshitomo Nara distinctively transcends a national style to offer a universal and touching psychological narrative of childhood--a time when family pets were huge and frightening, when other kids were equally overwhelming and alien, and when the world seemed as awe-inspiring, bizarre, and foreign as Alice's trips through Wonderland. Featuring an impish cast of wide-eyed and devilish children and their larger-than-life childhood pets, Nara's works highlight the manic fear, anxiety, simplicity, fantasy, and escape that defines childhood and leaves its remnants on the adult psyche. This exhibition catalogue features essays and writings by a range of contemporary writers, musicians, and cultural critics, including Dave Eggers, Deborah Harry, John Doe, Josh Kun, and Billy Joe Armstrong. Published by Perceval Press and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland. Published by Perceval Press and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland; published on the occasion of the traveling exhibition Yoshitomo Nara: Nothing Ever Happens.