Mr. - 24/7: Online Auction Hong Kong Thursday, October 8, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private Collection
    Est-Ouest Auctions, Hong Kong, 26 November 2010, lot 9
    Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

  • Catalogue Essay

    Japanese contemporary artist Mr. has established a name for himself for his neo-pop aesthetic that spans his multidisciplinary practice. Executed in 1998, Let’s go by the airplane is a unique early work from Mr.’s revered oeuvre, created two years after the artist graduated from Sokei Art School having been discovered by fellow ‘Superflat’ artist Takashi Murakami a year prior. Rendered in acrylic on cotton, a young girl with vibrant blue hair is set against a pale pink background, charmingly smiling up at the viewer with her hand delicately placed on her chest.

    Employing the visual language of manga and anime as a means of exploring Japanese culture at large, Mr. marries high and low forms of contemporary expression in his depictions of carefree, colourful adolescents who like in the present work, play in his fairy-tail world. Drawing from the Japanese concept of kawaii, meaning ‘cuteness’; however, also bringing to mind the otaku subculture, his adorable cast of characters are contrasted by the wider reflection of social anxiety and solitude that underlines his work.

    Mr. has been honoured with numerous international solo exhibitions. In the past two years, this has included at Galerie Perrotin’s locations in Seoul, Paris and Hong Kong, as well as a solo exhibition at Musée Guimet in Paris (2019). His work can be found in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Daegu Art Museum, South Korea, among others.

4

Let's go by the airplane

1998
acrylic on cotton
28 x 16 cm. (11 x 6 1/4 in.)
Painted in 1998.

Estimate
HK$40,000 - 60,000 
€4,400-6,600
$5,100-7,700

Sold for HK$93,750

Contact Specialist

Delissa Handoko

Associate Specialist, Head of Online Sales, Hong Kong, 20th Century & Contemporary Art

+852 2318 2013

DHandoko@phillips.com

24/7: Online Auction

Online Auction 9 - 19 October 2020