Between 1988 and 2006, Shun Kurokochi, who describes himself as “an ordinary man working in a bank,” assembled an unusually large collection dedicated to the work of the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara.
Bit by bit, Kurokochi saved part of his salary to buy paintings and none of his friends or close family knew about his collection. When he started collecting back in the 1980s, Nara had not yet shot to international fame, and Kurokochi recalls he only needed to save “six months’ worth of my lunch money to buy one painting.”
On April 5, Sotheby’s Hong Kong will be auctioning this private collection with 35 lots, ranging from acrylic on canvas, works on paper, edition prints, to products such as wristwatches and a skateboard. Sotheby’s expects the collection to fetch in excess of US$2.4 million as all the works are completely fresh to the market and in pristine condition.
Kurokochi said he was attracted to Nara’s work early on because he empathized strongly with Nara’s images of children. “I see myself in them,” he said, recalling that as he lost his father when he was three and because his mother worked, he was frequently left in the care of his grandmother with no one else to play with. “I wanted to play with someone, yet I did not want anyone to know that I craved such friendships. I would purposely act annoyed so that they could not see through me and my loneliness. In reality, back then I was more lonely than anyone could ever guess,” he said. This strong affinity drove him to give up the small luxuries in life in exchange for these works and start buying everything he could, while also developed a friendship with the artist
Kurokochi told Artinfo he is selling his entire collection bar one drawing that the artist made of his two daughters as a gift.
“For a few years now, I have been feeling that Nara and his works have become far greater than I could imagine, and I have been feeling that these works are far too important for me to keep to myself,” Kurokochi said, when asked about the sale. “Having debated this, I felt that it was the right time to let them go in hopes that collectors who have appreciation for art and have the 'eye' for great works will add these works to their collections and appreciate them, too.” he added.
The Lexington resident, who has no prior history of heart problems, first fell ill in November 2011. Elliot developed bronchitis and pneumonia that persisted throughout the holiday season.
His health worsened, and he was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital on Jan. 25 of last year. Doctors there determined that he had suffered damage to his heart, and referred him to UK HealthCare for consideration of treatment options.
Dr. Navin Rajagopalan, medical director of cardiac transplantation, examined Elliott and determined that his heart was far too damaged to salvage with a ventricular assist device (VAD) — he needed a complete heart transplant, immediately. However, donor hearts are hard to come by, and the uncertain waiting period for a new heart posed a problem.
The TAH is a device that contains the same components as a real human heart, and for patients who have end-stage biventricular failure — like Elliott — the only options are an immediate donor human heart or a TAH as a bridge to transplant. He also received the Freedom Driver, a wearable, portable device that powers the Total Artificial Heart, allowing him the mobility to walk around and leave the hospital.
Elliott was officially placed on the transplant list on June 1, 2012. He went home to wait on his transplant, but when he began retaining fluid, he returned to UK for evaluation. Ultimately, due to his family’s work schedules, he decided to stay at UK so he could remain under surveillance should anything happen that would require medical assistance.
It’s been one full year since Elliott’s heart was removed — and he says he’s never felt better. He’s just waiting on that perfect donor heart to come through.
“I’m healthier now than I was before,” Elliott says. “I just try to keep a positive attitude.”
Elliott isn’t alone. Roughly 3,100 people in the United States are on the waiting list for a heart transplant on any given day, but only about 2,200 donor hearts are available each year. The level of necessity, blood type, and size are among several criteria that determines who receives a donated organ. Additionally, 49 percent of people listed for a donor heart in the U.S. have been waiting for a year or longer.
While he waits for his heart, Elliott passes the time by visiting with family and friends and watching movies, and he’s even taken up a new hobby — watercolor paintings. He stays mobile to keep up his strength, but declines to use the backpack that comes with the Freedom Driver, joking that he likes to carry the device manually to improve his arm strength.
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