APPOART

“I never have a plan of what I am going to draw”

Yayoi Kusama is a renowned japanese artist known for her particular use of polka dots in her works. She was born in 1929 and raised in Matsumoto and when she was a child she had a poor economic background that made her develop her creativity. She started making artworks at the age of 10 but unfortunately her poor familiar background sealed her life especially when her mother tore her canvas while she was painting. Then she was allowed to attend an art school but the style that was taught there was formal and not in her lines. When she moved to the United States she had the opportunity to make a large number of canvas and other artworks that successively have been noticed and exposed in “Galleria Brata”.

Artistic style:

The main characteristic of Kusama’s works are undoubtedly polka dots that have a key role in her paintings due to the fact that they symbolize hallucinations that remind her of her moments as a child in her family farm threatened by flowers. Her style had changed drastically since she moved to New York. Kusama’s art turned more conceptualist, introducing in her style a minimal, feminist, surreal and pop character. 

Most important works:

Infinity Mirror Rooms

Kusama is best known for her immersive “Infinity Mirror Rooms” – mirrored environments filled with LED lights or her signature polka dots that create the illusion of infinite space.

Pumpkin Sculptures

Kusama’s pumpkin sculptures are another iconic part of her work. She became fascinated with pumpkins as a child and they have appeared throughout her career, including:

Yellow Pumpkin (1994/2022) – a large, bright yellow pumpkin sculpture installed outdoors on the Japanese island of Naoshima.

Narcissus Garden (1966/2022) – an installation of hundreds of mirrored stainless steel spheres that resemble pumpkins, first shown at the 33rd Venice Biennale.

Exhibitions:

Yayoi Kusama: Portraying the Figurative – Yayoi Kusama Museum, Tokyo

Dates: Saturday, April 27, 2024 – Sunday, September 1, 2024

This exhibition focuses on Kusama’s figurative works, spanning from the 1940s to the present, including early sketches, traditional Japanese paintings, collages, and recent paintings featuring motifs like self-portraits and pumpkins.

It will display Kusama’s mirror room installation created for the museum’s inauguration, as well as a new soft sculpture-covered boat.

Yayoi Kusama Retrospective – National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Dates: Opens December 15, 2024

This major retrospective will showcase over 180 works spanning Kusama’s 8-decade career, including new infinity mirror rooms and a large-scale “Dancing Pumpkin” sculpture.

Highlights will include Kusama’s early childhood drawings, her iconic pumpkin sculptures, and a new iteration of her “Narcissus Garden” installation.