MAKOTO AIDA

Makoto Aida has been dubbed the 'l'enfant terrible' of the Japanese art world. With sado-masochist, violent and sexually explicit imageries, his works are at the same time cynically humorous, controversial and provocative. The variety of medium in his oeuvre is astounding, videos, installations, performances, photography, and drawings, further affirming his versatility as an artist. Although he was not part of the dominate New Pop Art moment of his generation that included artists like Yoshitoma Nara and Takashi Murakami, he nevertheless is one of the giants of Japanese contemporary art and was honored with his first major retrospective show at the Mori Art Museum in Japan in 2012.

In Nothing to Lose (lot 13), the artist utilizes his characteristic humor depicting a rice roll figure hugging a typical Japanese fish sausage, in a surreal cavity that resembles the insides of a womb or anus, with the words 'Nothing to Lose' emblazon on the side. It is created with a sister work called Untitled (a.k.a. I'm not thinking.) 2004. The artist's methods in execution is precise and meticulous, Aida said "When I had a solo show in NY, I created this piece on siteKI tend to like making works on site, in the cases when I cannot inspect an exhibition space beforehand." The work is mounted on a traditional Japanese screen, mixing traditional decorative art with contemporary theme, making this a very unique piece.