The first U.K. public institutional solo exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara opened at London's Hayward Gallery in June 2025, featuring over 150 works spanning four decades. The retrospective includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations, such as the large-scale painting "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" (2017), which sold for $12.3 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong. Notable visitors include artist Takashi Murakami and collector RM of BTS. The exhibition runs through August 31.
This show matters because Nara is one of the world's top-selling living artists from Asia, and his wide-eyed, child-like characters resonate with a broad global audience beyond the typical art crowd. The exhibition's popularity underscores Nara's universal appeal, connecting with Gen Z viewers who discovered his work via social media and older audiences who have followed his career. It also highlights the growing cultural and market significance of Asian contemporary artists in the Western institutional landscape.