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Tadanori Yokoo and Portraits Series
In 2014, on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary, the Fondation Cartier invited Tadanori Yokoo to paint the portraits of all those who wrote its history from exhibition to exhibition since its creation in 1984. The artist took up the challenge and, with great freedom, embarked on this pictorial adventure at the rhythm of one canvas per day, or even two, sometimes three. For three months, he devoted himself exclusively to this series of portraits of artists, thinkers, critics and scientists, from all over the world such as Junya Ishigami, Rinko Kawauchi, Agnes Varda, Cai Guo-Qiang. The technique, oil paint, and the format, 33 x 24 cm, are identical for the 139 portraits but for every single one, he invents a different style. For this artist who declares that "change is creation", the canvas is a space of infinite experimentation, of the invention of styles, and of the play between graphics and image.
Profile
Tadanori Yokoo
Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1936, Tadanori Yokoo is an internationally-acclaimed artist whose works are held in the collections of many of the worldʼs greatest art galleries and museums. He was given a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1972, and has since held solo exhibitions at art galleries and museums around the world, including the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris, and the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow. He has also submitted works to biennale exhibitions worldwide, including Paris, Venice, Sao Paulo, and Bangladesh. In Japan, he has presented numerous solo exhibitions - at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, and the National Museum of Art in Osaka. The Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art opened in Kobe in 2012, and the Teshima Yokoo House opened on the island of Teshima in Kagawa Prefecture in 2013. In 2011, he was awarded both The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette and the Asahi Prize. Then, in 2015, he received the 27th Praemium Imperiale Awards In Honor of Prince Takamatsu, and in 2020 he was conferred with the title of Tokyo Honorary Citizen. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo is to present a major solo exhibition of his work, opening on 17th July 2021.
http://www.tadanoriyokoo.com