At Art Miami this December, I came across the cutest radio I’ve ever laid eyes on. (It popped back on my radar when I spotted it on toy collector/photographer doc18’s Flickr stream.) Popular Japanese contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara designed Doggy Radio, a fully functional radio that comes with a red nose that lights up when turned on. That nose also functions as a radio dial and the volume is controlled underneath the dog’s chin. Though you wouldn’t know it, this sculpture even has an intricate sound system nested in its belly by Yamaha Lab (see last picture, below).
in order to share his passion for music and art, Nara created this specially handmade art. The plastic polymer tabletop dog is priced at $2,500 with an edition size of 3,000 worldwide. Pace Prints is the exclusive seller in North America, who’ve been alloted 500 and of which they sold 45 at Art Miami, according to Artnet.
Nara first came to the forefront of the art scene during Japan’s Pop art movement in the 1990s. His sculptures and paintings are known be influenced by manga and anime art of the 1960s. Lauded by art critics, Nara’s intriguing works have gained him a cult following around the world.
