Yayoi Kusama
Shoes Screenprint, Contemporary 20th Century, A.P. Edition, 53.5x61 cm
Official source: 1stdibs.com.
- Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts
- Infinity Mirror Rooms
- Polka-dot Painting ('Infinity Nets')
- Soft Sculpture
- Pumpkins
Yayoi Kusama developed a career spanning painting, sculpture, performance, installation, film, fashion and literature. After moving from Japan to the United States in 1957, she became part of the New York avant-garde through Infinity Net paintings, accumulations, mirror installations and public happenings. She returned to Japan in 1973 and continued working from Tokyo for more than five decades. Her later Infinity Mirror Rooms and pumpkin sculptures brought an already historically important practice to an enormous global audience. Kusama died in Tokyo in August 2026 at age 97.
Painting; sculpture; installation; performance; film; writing
Gallery Representation
Objects
Yayoi Kusama
Pumpkin (Red)
2015
Kusama has painted the pumpkin for six decades — a form she calls "the most humble and humorous of vegetables." This small red resin object is the sculptural echo of that lifelong subject: dotted, rounded, faintly comic, entirely serious. Produced under license by the artist's studio for MoMA.
Artist Films
Installation of Yayoi Kusama's Yellow Trees building wrap
Whitney Museum of American ArtOfficial source ↗ (opens in a new window)
Artist Yayoi Kusama on Using Her Art to Fight For Peace | From the Archive | Louisiana Channel
Louisiana Channel2 minOfficial source ↗ (opens in a new window)
Yayoi Kusama
Whitney Museum of American ArtOfficial source ↗ (opens in a new window)
Major Works
- 1959Infinity Nets →Oil on canvasSeries; major museum collections
- 1962Accumulation No. 1 →Sewn and stuffed fabric, paint, armchairMoMA
- 1965Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli's Field →Mirror, stuffed fabric, lights and installation materialsInstallation / later reconstructions
- 1966Narcissus Garden →Mirrored spheres, installationFirst presented at Venice Biennale context
- 1967Self-Obliteration →Film and performanceMuseum and archive collections
- 1994Pumpkin →Painted fiberglass sculptureBenesse Art Site Naoshima / versions
- 2007Dots Obsession—Love Transformed into Dots →Inflatable sculpture and mirror installationInstallation
- 2013Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away →Mirror, lights, wood, metal, acrylic panelThe Broad
- 2016All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins →Mirror, wood, LED, acrylic and pumpkinsInstallation
- 2017Flower Obsession →Participatory installationInstallation
Museums & Public Collections
Related Artists
Selected Exhibitions
- 1966 Narcissus Garden at the Venice BiennaleMajor exhibition / biennial / historical milestonegroup
- 1993 Japan Pavilion, Venice BiennaleMajor exhibition / biennial / historical milestonegroup
- 2021–24 Infinity Mirror Rooms, Tate ModernMajor exhibition / biennial / historical milestonegroup
- 2025 Fondation Beyeler surveyMajor exhibition / biennial / historical milestonegroup
- extensive international museum exhibitionsMajor exhibition / biennial / historical milestonegroup
Interviews & Writing
- Museum-quality video search →RESEARCH QUEUEvideo