Artist Yoshitomo Nara's exhibition "Shallow Puddles" is running until November 14th at BLUM&POE, a gallery in front of Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo. The exhibition features paintings on round plates made of patchwork canvas. This includes six works shown at graf media gm in Osaka in 2004 and six works shown at the Yoshii Sake Brewery Brick Warehouse in Aomori in 2006, for a total of 12 works. Each piece depicts a girl on a round plate, gazing intently at the viewer with wide eyes, then occasionally averting her gaze, capturing their gaze. Hanging on the wall, the plates resemble portals to a submerged world. Each work transcends traditional portraiture, drawing the viewer's attention not only to the background and characters, but also to the mastery of color, form, and composition. In addition to the exhibition, a bilingual Japanese-English exhibition catalogue will be published, featuring text by Shigemi Takahashi, a curator at the Aomori Museum of Art who has built a close relationship with Yoshitomo Nara on numerous projects.