Lithographs
62 works
Yoshitomo Nara Mirror For Sale
Yoshitomo Nara
Mirror, 1999
About this work
Yoshitomo Nara's *Mirror* from 1999 represents a pivotal moment in the artist's career, emerging from a period when his distinctive visual language had reached full maturity following his years studying and working in Germany. The work embodies the psychological complexity that has made Nara one of the most consequential figures in contemporary Japanese art, presenting viewers with his signature wide-eyed child figure whose gaze oscillates between innocence and quiet rebellion. The title itself suggests introspection and confrontation, inviting viewers to consider what is reflected back—both for the subject and themselves. Nara's children are never simply sweet; they carry an undercurrent of defiance rooted in punk rock sensibilities and a raw emotional honesty that resonates across cultural boundaries. This tension between vulnerability and resistance gives his work its enduring psychological weight. Created at the close of the twentieth century, *Mirror* arrived as Nara's international recognition was ascending rapidly, preceding his major museum retrospectives and cementing the visual vocabulary he continues to explore today. Works from this era remain highly sought after by collectors worldwide, representing both the artist's formative vision and a moment of particular creative intensity. The piece demonstrates why Nara's market presence has grown consistently, with works from the late 1990s commanding significant attention at auction and in private sales. For acquisition inquiries regarding *Mirror*, please contact Guy Hepner in New York.
Price on Application
Auction History
Mirror (In the Floating World) · Yoshitomo Nara · Christie's · 2019-11 · $12,776
Mirror (In the Floating World) · Yoshitomo Nara · Christie's · 2026-03 · $10,174
More from this series
Yoshitomo Nara
Flashlight Girl
2001
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Full Moon Night
1999
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Girl In A Box
2001
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Little Tannenbaum
1999
Yoshitomo Nara
No Fun
1997
Yoshitomo Nara
No Nukes Love And Peace
1999
Yoshitomo Nara
On the F Word
2002
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Peace Flag
2001
Yoshitomo Nara
Punk Ebizo
1998
Yoshitomo Nara
What's Going On
1999
Related Reading
More series by Yoshitomo Nara
About the Early Works Series
Overview
Yoshitomo Nara's early works capture the moment his visual language crystallised into one of the most recognisable in contemporary art. Produced largely between the late 1990s and early 2000s, these prints and editions introduce the lone, big-headed child — half innocent, half insurgent — that would come to define his practice. Raw, direct and steeped in the punk and folk music of his youth, they remain among the most sought-after entry points into Nara's world. Guy Hepner presents early Nara works at our New York gallery.
A Language Taking Shape
Nara spent formative years studying and working in Germany, and the emotional economy of these early pieces reflects that period of solitude and self-definition. Works such as No Fun (1997) and Punk Ebizo (1998) wear their attitude openly, while the 1999 group — Full Moon Night, Little Tannenbaum, Mirror, No Nukes Love And Peace and What's Going On — shows the artist refining a vocabulary of simplified line, flattened colour and a single confrontational figure set against an empty ground.
The media are as varied as the moods: alongside conventional editions sit experiments such as the What's Going On Fuji Xerox copy and the Peace Flag silkscreen printed on a cotton flag (2001), evidence of an artist testing how his imagery behaves across surfaces and formats.
Recurring Themes
Even at this early stage the essential Nara tensions are present: sweetness laced with defiance, vulnerability edged with menace. Titles like No Nukes Love And Peace and Peace Flag signal the quiet activism that runs through his career, while Flashlight Girl and Girl In A Box (2001) place his solitary children in charged, ambiguous situations. These works reward close looking — the more innocent the face, the more complicated the feeling behind it.
Collecting Early Nara
Early works are prized by collectors for documenting the origin of Nara's mature style, and they sit naturally alongside his later lithographs, woodblock prints and editions. Guy Hepner Gallery offers authenticated early Nara works with full provenance documentation. Contact our New York team to discuss current availability and acquisition.
About Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959, Hirosaki, Japan) stands as one of the most influential figures in contemporary Japanese art, whose deceptively simple portraits of wide-eyed children—at once innocent and subversively defiant—have become icons of the Neo-Pop movement. Trained in Düsseldorf and deeply influenced by punk rock and anime culture, Nara creates works that resonate across cultural boundaries, commanding an international collector base and record-breaking auction results. His paintings, drawings, and sculptures are held in major museum collections worldwide, cementing his position as a defining voice in 21st-century art.