
<p>Yayoi Kusama began making art during childhood as a vehicle for both escape and therapy. At the age of 12, she sketched an elaborate, disturbing portrait of her mother based on hallucinations of repeated, encompassing patterns of dots and colors. These visions would continue to influence her art and appear in her performances, paintings, sculptures, and environments throughout her career. In 1957 Kusama moved from Japan to New York and began her “infinity net” paintings, filling canvases with minimal, meditative compositions of netlike patterns. While these patterns appear to be devoid of an overtly expressive quality, the artist’s labor-intensive technique of mark making reflects her highly emotive intent and obsessive concern with process. She has lived and worked in Japan, at times under unorthodox conditions, since 1973.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1960
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 79.7 × 64.8 cm (31 3/8 × 25 1/2 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Yayoi Kusama
Artist

Sculpture
Yayoi Kusama's (b. 1929) work has transcended two of the most important art movements of the second half of the twentieth century: Pop art and…
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More by Yayoi Kusama
The Passing Winter
2005 · Mirror and glass
Suitcase
2004 · Mixed media
Infinity Nets (for Parkett no. 59)
2000 · Multiple of screenprint on mirror
Violet Obsession
1994 · Sewn and stuffed fabric over rowboat and oars
Untitled
1978 · Spray paint on calligraphy paperboard
The Atlantic Ocean
1978 · Spray paint on calligraphy paperboard
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Yayoi Kusama
- Year
- 1960
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 79.7 × 64.8 cm (31 3/8 × 25 1/2 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1960-137713
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





