Yoshitomo Nara

Beh!, 2003 Limited edition print by Yoshitomo Nara, signed and numbered

2003

Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959)
Beh!, 2003

Medium: Lithograph on paper (8 plates, 10 colors)
Image: 49.8 × 40.0 cm (19 5/8 × 15 3/4 in)
Sheet: 66.0 × 50.5 cm (26 × 19 7/8 in)
Edition: A.P. 4/11, from an edition of 72 plus 11 artist’s proofs
Signature/Numbering: Signed and dated lower right; numbered lower left “A.P. 4/11.”
Printer/Publisher: KIDO Press, Inc., Tokyo

Provenance
Gallery Tagboat, Tokyo, Japan
Acquired from the above by the previous owner
Poly Auction, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above

Literature
BSS No. E-2003-001
Catalogue raisonné No. YNF3961

Description
Beh! encapsulates Yoshitomo Nara’s blend of innocence, humor, and rebellion. The image portrays a small, round-headed child standing on a patch of grass, eyes clenched and mouth open in a loud cry, accompanied by the Japanese onomatopoeia “べー” (“beh!”)—a teasing, tongue-out expression of defiance familiar from playground antics. The figure’s exaggerated gesture is both comic and poignant, suggesting a child’s fragile assertion of self in a world of unseen pressures.

The lithograph’s crisp outlines and pastel tonalities lend the composition an immediate, hand-drawn intimacy. Nara’s use of muted colors against a bare background emphasizes the emotional clarity of the moment, transforming a fleeting act of mischief into a quiet statement of individuality. Beneath the apparent simplicity lies a tension between vulnerability and independence—a hallmark of Nara’s art, where childhood becomes a metaphor for resistance and sincerity. Beh! is both lighthearted and psychologically charged, capturing the essence of Nara’s universe: a space where whimsy and introspection coexist.