b. 1929
Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama dazzles audiences worldwide with her immersive “Infinity Mirror Rooms” and an aesthetic that embraces light, polka dots, and pumpkins. The avant-garde artist first rose to prominence in 1960s New York, where she staged provocative Happenings and exhibited hallucinatory paintings of loops and dots that she called “Infinity Nets.” Kusama also influenced Andy Warhol and augured the rise of feminist and Pop art. She has been the subject of major exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art,Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. In 1993, Kusama represented Japan at the Venice Biennale. Today, her work regularly sells for seven figures on the secondary market. Throughout her disparate practice, Kusama has continued to explore her own obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexuality, freedom, and perception. In 1977, Kusama voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo, where she continues to live today.
Biography
“My life is a dot lost among thousands of other dots.”
Known for her polka-dot installation works and iconic ‘Infinity Rooms,’ Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is one of the biggest names in 20th Century art. Born in Matsumoto in 1929, Kusama is now one of the most well-known figures across Pop Art and Minimalist movements, and her experiments in performance, fashion, poetry and painting have been exhibited around the world. Notably, Kusama has been open about the way she uses art as a form of therapy. Following her rise to fame in the 1960s, Kusama has ensured her status as one of the most important contemporary artists from Japan in the 20th century.
Beginning
Born in Matsumo in the Nagano region of Japan, Kusama’s parents were both seed farmers. Kusama had very little formal training, and only attended the Kyoto City Specialist School of Arts for a year in 1948, likely the result of her parents not being particularly supportive of her artistic pursuits.
She began working in a military factory at age 13 where she sewed parachutes for the Japanese army. Working here provided her with the realisation of the importance of personal freedom and creative licence, with escapism featuring as an important underlying element to her work.
Early Works
As an artist, Kusama amassed considerable fame in Japan before her move to the United States, holding her first solo show in 1952. Upon her move to New York, her first commercial works were actually watercolours, such as The Woman (1953), which demonstrated her move towards American artistic influences such as abstraction. The work depicts a biomorphic form containing the dots that would then come to define the artist’s oeuvre.
By 1956 however, Kusama had expanded her painting from purely gouache, watercolours and oils on paper, to painting polka dots directly onto household surfaces, including the walls and the floors of rooms. This is when we also see her begin to paint directly onto naked assistants, which would also become a defining feature of her performance works in the following decade.
Success
In terms of painting, Kusama became an immediate staple of the New York Avant Garde following her Infinity Net works that she began upon her arrival to the city. The obsessively repeated marks that define these paintings are considered a precursor to the minimalist movement, and in the 1960s her work was exhibited alongside big names such as Donald Judd, Andy Warhol and Clas Oldenburg.
The first of Kusama’s widespread internationally successful performance works was also in 1966, with Narcissus Garden. Unofficially displayed at the 33rd Biennale, the piece contained 1500 plastic reflective globes which, after being placed on the lawn outside the Italian pavilion, were then sold individually by the artist herself to visitors. Though the performance was shut down by Biennale officials, it has since been recommissioned and created in various international settings.
Yayoi Kusama Louis Vuitton
Yayoi Kusama's collaborations with major brands, notably Louis Vuitton, have been ground-breaking intersections of art and fashion. In 2012, Louis Vuitton partnered with Kusama for an unprecedented collection that showcased her iconic polka dots and vibrant colors across a range of handbags, accessories, and apparel. The collaboration featured Kusama's distinctive aesthetic reimagined on Louis Vuitton's classic designs, creating a fusion of high fashion and contemporary art. Kusama's whimsical motifs adorned Louis Vuitton's iconic monogram canvas, breathing new life into the luxury brand's heritage while introducing her bold style to a global audience. The collaboration was met with immense acclaim and further solidified Kusama's status as a cultural icon, bridging the worlds of fashion and art in a dazzling display of creativity and innovation.
Influences
Yayoi Kusama Pumpkins
Kusama started experiencing hallucinations during her childhood and these visions would usually involve fields of polka dots, which were to later become a defining motif in her work. She was also known for drawing pumpkins in her earlier childhood which again became an enduring subject. Describing these visions as “flashes of light, auras or dense fields of dots,” these visions provided an enduring influence over her artistic output.
The artist has also made no secret of the fact that art has played a significant role in her healing process in terms of mental health and in confronting her own personal phobias. A key example of this is found in her 1960s 'Soft Sculptures,' namely her Accumulation series. Here, Kusama transforms pieces of household furniture into sexualised objects covered in phallic forms, which she states are supposed to be confrontations of her sexual phobias and anxiety caused by exposure to her father’s philandering as a child.
Current Market
Kusama currently holds the record for the highest auction price for any living female artist, with her 1990 painting Pumpkin selling for £170,000 at Phillips auction house alongside a sizable £400,000 at Christies for her Infinity Nets from 2006. The most expensive Kusama work ever sold was her Interminable Net no.4,(1959) which brought in over $6.7million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2019.
Yayoi Kusama Prints and Posters
Yayoi Kusama's print market is characterised by a fervent demand for her iconic artworks, reflecting her status as one of the most influential contemporary artists. Known for her mesmerising use of polka dots, vibrant colours, and immersive installations, Kusama's prints captivate collectors worldwide. The limited editions of her prints often sell out quickly, with collectors eagerly seeking to acquire pieces that embody Kusama's unique vision and aesthetic. With a prolific body of work spanning decades, including her renowned Infinity Mirror Rooms and large-scale sculptures, Kusama's prints offer collectors a more accessible entry point into her artistic universe. As her popularity continues to soar, the value and appeal of Kusama's prints in the art market remain steadfast, making them coveted treasures for both seasoned collectors and art enthusiasts alike.
Exhibitions
Yayoi Kusama Factory International exhibition
Yayoi Kusama's exhibitions have captivated audiences around the world, and "You, Me, and the Balloons" is no exception. Presented by Factory International in 2023, this immersive exhibition invited visitors to experience Kusama's whimsical world of polka dots, mirrors, and vibrant colours. The exhibition in Manchester showcased Kusama's iconic balloon sculptures, which symbolise her fascination with infinity and the interconnectedness of all things. Through these playful installations, Kusama invited viewers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and introspection, blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination. "You, Me, and the Balloons" offered a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in Kusama's enchanting universe and explore the profound themes that resonate throughout her body of work.
Collecting Yayoi Kusama Prints with Confidence
As a gallery who have been buying and selling Yayoi Kusama prints for many years, the growing number of counterfeits in the market is of significant concern to us. The purpose of this article is to...
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