iDavid ZwirnerChelsea
Yoshitomo Nara
New paintings and drawings, recent sculptures, and early works spanning from the 1980s to today: the artist's first solo presentation with David Zwirner and his first major New York solo show in nearly a decade.
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Preview: written before the show opened
You walk into the 533 West 19th Street gallery and thirteen heads look back. Each is a palm-sized clay head Nara modelled by hand, enlarged ten times in bronze and coated in matte white urethane. The press release says they recall the snow "monsters" that heavy snowfall built in the rural northern Japan of his childhood. They are the only snowmen in Manhattan this winter that won't end up as gray curb slush.
One block over at 537 West 20th Street are new 2026 paintings: front-facing portraits with direct gazes, in a palette the gallery says has turned more muted over the past year. Others start as colored-pencil sketches under thin acrylic washes, with tear-filled eyes. Large monochrome drawings in industrial paint stick sit beside works from the 1980s that Nara picked himself.
Entry is free, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and the opening reception on 5 November, 6 to 8pm, is open to the public.
Look for
Thirteen white snow-monster heads
At 19th Street, look for bronze heads ten times the size of their hand-molded clay originals, their matte white surfaces catching light and shadow.
The new 2026 portraits
At 20th Street, front-facing figures stare straight at you through muted, layered color and soft, diffused brushwork.
Pencil-and-wash paintings
Colored-pencil drawings show through translucent acrylic washes, with figures in natural poses and tear-filled eyes.
Large paint-stick drawings
Big monochrome drawings in industrial oil-based paint stick, all bold line, unlike the hazy new paintings beside them.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- Rainy Days
Also at David Zwirner
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Image credits
8
- Yoshitomo NaraCourtesy of David Zwirner
- David Lamelas: The MachineJoeyvandernaald, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Li Hei Di: the year of mudLi Hei Di, a kiss from the butterfly, 2026 © Li Hei Di
- David ZwirnerCourtesy David Zwirner
- Hauser & WirthJim.henderson, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Dia ChelseaFound5dollar, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pace GalleryPace Gallery
- GagosianKazuhisa Otsubo (Flickr/cytech), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0