Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama (1929 - present)
Born 草間 彌生 (Yayoi Kusama) on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan.
Her parents owned a seed farm, so Kusama grew up surrounded by flowers and vegetables. You will often see flowers, pumpkins and other natural elements in her work.
Since she was a young girl, Kusama has experienced hallucinations, often in the visual form of dots. Since the 1970s, she has willingly lived in a psychiatric hospital in Japan. Art-making is a form of therapy that helps to keep her calm and centered.
The richest living female artist in the world, Kusama has lived both in Japan and in the United States. It was artist Georgia O'Keeffe who encouraged her to move to the US. Her artwork flourished while living in NYC from 1958 - 1975, and during that time she became good friends with O'Keeffe and Andy Warhol!
Though Yayoi Kusama's Love is Calling just left the ICA, if you visit Washington, DC, you can step inside her infinity rooms at the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum through this spring. In 2017, the PBS News Hour went to the Hirshhorn to experience her exhibit. Louis Vuitton is currently showcasing a collaboration with Kusama, and has staged some incredible 3D advertisements to promote the collection. In addition to infinity rooms and clothing, Kusama also recently had an exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden, where she connected the dots between the flowers she grew up surrounded by and her art making.
What do you notice? ✏️ What do you wonder? ✏️ What do you like or dislike?
Love is Calling
2013, wood, metal, mirrored glass, vinyl, ceramic tile, acrylic panel, blowers, lighting elements, speakers, and, sound. Instillation at the Institute of Contemporary Art (2019 - 2022), Boston, MA
Artist of the Week Yayoi Kusama.pdfKusama Worksheet
In September 2018, I visited Where the Lights in My Heart Go (2016) while it was on loan at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Being inside the Yayoi Kusama instillation made me feel like I was floating in outerspace!
Yayoi Kusama, Where the Lights in My Heart Go, 2016, mirror polished stainless steel with glass mirror, 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 inches, Collection of Lauren and Derek Goodman, Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai and Victoria Miro, London/Venice, © Yayoi Kusama. Installation view at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA.
In 2023, my cousin Taylor and I went to the Yayoi Kusami "One with Eternity" exhibit at the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. We got to go into the rooms all by ourselves, so it was a really neat experience!