Tadanori Yokoo’s Paintings Tinged with Torment

An avant-garde figure in graphic design in the 1960s, Tadanori Yokoo has continued, in his artistic output dating from the 1980s onwards, to explore themes that previously ran through his illustrations and that are now addressed through another medium: painting. 

His canvases depict his memory-based explorations, both personal and societal, of subjects as varied as death, spirituality, eroticism, and changes in post-war Japan. 

Eroticism of death

His work is gathered together in a series entitled Rouge, which compiles his artistic production between 1996 and 2006, exhibited at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris in 2006. The series also gave rise to a book released by the publisher of the same name.

‘Death is very present in my work. You know, in the appearance of death there is eroticism. And vice versa. To me, they are two sides of the same reality’, the artist explains in the introduction to the book. ‘But this isn’t abstract. I’ve always felt this inside me. It was this organic vision that led me down this artistic path.’

In the book, the reader discovers apocalyptic-looking pieces, where volcanoes, deserts, and caves appear side by side, here and there interspersed with stars and cherry blossom. In these troubled works, created in various shades of deep red, only a few touches of black and gold break the hegemony. Alongside his glowing red creations, the book features some canvases that are lighter in spirit, inspired by British and American Pop Art from the 1960s. 

Tadanori Yokoo (2006), a book of works by Tadanori Yokoo, is published by the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. More information about the artist’s work can be found on his official website.