KEIICHI TANAAMI: NANCY’S ADVENTURE VOL.2

NANZUKA is pleased to present Keiichi Tanaami’s solo exhibition “Nancy’s Adventure vol.2”.

October 30 – November 16, 2024

Tanaami is known for vivid, color-drenched works that intensely reflect his childhood memories of World War II and the impact of the American pop culture he encountered after the war. One of Tanaami’s original graphic experiences was a group of American comic book images brought by American soldiers. He recalled, “In the 1960s, I had a shocking encounter with the Pop Art of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, which led me to discover an expression that would allow me to utilize my hidden obsession with comics and commercial art.”

This exhibition, “Nancy’s Adventure vol.2,” features three paintings based on the classic American comic book “Nancy,” published by Ernie Bushmiller in 1938 and became popular in Japan after being introduced in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper after the war. The “Nancy” series is a representative series of recent years that allows viewers to experience Tanaami’s artistic style and invites them to adventure into Tanaami’s original experiences.

In this second exhibition, the protagonist Nancy is depicted in everyday scenes, dining and gazing out the window against a backdrop of air raids. Tanaami has inscribed the words "DO NOT BOMB" into a piece created just before his death, suggesting a deep anti-war sentiment embedded within that work.

As people around the world continue to face the ravages of war, turning our attention to the "Nancy" series reveals Tanaami’s heartfelt desire for peace more vividly than ever. Through the intertwining themes of "War" and "Pop," which resonate universally with humanity in the post-World War era, Tanaami's works continue to pose poignant questions relevant to our times.