David Zwirner Announces a Two-Location Yoshitomo Nara Showcase in NYC
Opening this October, the milestone survey brings together foundational 1980s archives alongside brand-new works on canvas.
Summary
Yoshitomo Nara’s first David Zwirner exhibition opens in New York on October 29, 2026.
The two-location exhibition features new atmospheric paintings and large-format drawings.
The 19th Street location will feature thirteen monumental white bronze head sculptures.
Opening this fall, David Zwirner will present Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara’s inaugural solo exhibition with the gallery, spanning its 533 West 19th Street and 537 West 20th Street locations in New York. Marking the artist’s first major solo presentation in the city in nearly a decade, the expansive showcase features new 2026 paintings, large-format drawings, recent sculptures and foundational early works from the 1980s chosen by Nara himself.
The presentation at the 537 West 20th Street space highlights the latest stylistic shifts in Nara’s two-dimensional artwork, featuring front-facing portraits with direct gazes rendered in a distinctly muted, highly nuanced color palette. The new paintings reveal intricate, diffused brushwork that builds richly atmospheric depths, alongside a fresh method where compositions are first sketched in colored pencil before receiving translucent washes of acrylic paint. In these works, figures adopt natural poses with tear-filled eyes that evoke a quiet sense of uncertainty. Exhibited in tandem are recent monochrome drawings created with industrial oil-based paint sticks, as well as his “line” paintings —works created by projecting and reanimating bold notebook sketches onto canvas to retain the rapid, fluid impulse of drawing.
Concurrently, the 533 West 19th Street venue houses thirteen monumental bronze head sculptures created in 2024, each representing a ten-fold enlargement of palm-sized clay prototypes hand-molded by the artist. Coated in matte white urethane paint to afford an inviting visual softness, the large-scale works recall the “snow monsters” created by heavy snowfall during Nara’s childhood winters. By magnifying the simple facial expressions of these small prototypes to a monumental scale, the installation explores the psychological impact of size, allowing the play of light and shadow across their smooth surfaces to foster an environment of serenity and reflection.
Both showcases will take place across its aforementioned gallery locations starting October 29, 2026.
