Tadanori Yokoo

The first comprehensive English-language retrospective of one of the greatest living Japanese visual artists, this ambitious publication will be the definitive guide to Tadanori Yokoo’s extensive body of work.

Mixing psychedelia, pop art, sexual iconography, and references to Japanese historical tradition such as ukiyo-­e prints, Tadanori Yokoo’s work has become synonymous with postwar Japan. Rising in popularity in Tokyo during the 1960s, his subversive designs were favored among the city’s radical youth groups. Covering the full breadth of his work, this expansive tome shines a necessary light on Yokoo’s paintings, offering fresh insight into the pioneering artist’s creative process and practice.

Born in 1936 in Nishiwaki, Japan, Yokoo began his career designing posters and wrapping paper for the Chamber of Commerce in Nishiwaki. Moving to Tokyo at age twenty-four, he worked as a graphic designer for theaters throughout the ’60s.

His commercial posters marked a stark contrast from the often flat style employed at the time. Drawing on influences from Western consumer culture, mysticism, psychedelia, and traditional Japanese techniques, Yokoo created a new visual language that opposed the popular modernist style.

While typically labeled as a graphic artist, this expansive publication offers a fresh focus on Yokoo’s paintings, positioning his work against pivotal social and political events to offer both a history of a nation and an artist. Featuring an essay by Mark Holborn and a translation of the seminal text “Popcorn Minimalism” by iconoclastic Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, quotes from Yokoo punctuate the book throughout.