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Yayoi Kusama

Japanese, b. 1929

Widely inspirational and innovative artist Yayoi Kusama has a body of work that is exceptionally varied, ranging from graphic prints and paintings to polka-dot pumpkin sculptures, hypnotic collages, large-scale installations and fashion design.

Even if you don’t know her name, you’ve likely experienced Kusama’s art — or have seen it on Instagram. Her soft sculptures and dazzling “Infinity Mirrors” are the stuff of selfie-takers’ dreams, but Kusama’s impressive decades-long career certainly holds far more cachet than it does fodder for today’s aspiring social-media influencers.

Born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929, Kusama has worked with her signature polka dots since the age of 10, when she began to experience vivid hallucinations and claimed that patterns and dots were moving around her, swallowing up everything in view. She started to incorporate them into her paintings as a child. Kusama saw circular forms and nets on every surface and became especially fascinated with the pebbles that lined the bottom of the creek near her childhood home. Her family was sternly opposed to her art and her mother physically abused Kusama and discouraged her at a very early age. She has suffered psychological turmoil her whole life and is vocal about her mental illness. Today, Kusama is a voluntary resident at a psychiatric facility in Tokyo, and she calls her work “art medicine.”

At the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts, Kusama trained in Nihonga, a traditional style of Japanese painting that originated during the Meiji period. On advice she solicited from painter Georgia O'Keeffe, a pioneer of modernism in America whom she greatly admired, she subsequently moved to New York City in 1958. There, Kusama flourished, creating prescient sculptures and large-scale monochrome paintings that bridged current styles with minimalism, which hadn’t yet achieved any kind of prominence as an art movement. She pushed boundaries with her “Accumulations” series, which saw her transforming found furniture pieces into sexualized objects, as well as with an avant-garde staging of theatrical orgies on the street — both stemming from her anxieties about sex as well as an endeavor to make a feminist statement about patriarchal authority and sexism.

Kusama was captivated by Surrealists as well as the Abstract Expressionists and greatly influenced the Pop artists who followed, befriending such icons as Donald Judd — who called her work “the best paintings being done” — and Andy Warhol, with whom she exhibited and later accused of stealing her ideas. Kusama moved with ease through artistic circles and made a point to draw attention to her “otherness” as a Japanese woman by wearing kimonos to her openings.

In 2021, Kusama brought her floral and vegetal sculptures to the New York Botanical Garden and her works can be found in the collections of many of the world’s top museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. She famously collaborated with Louis Vuitton in 2012, and she created a 34-foot-tall balloon for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan in 2019, becoming the first female artist to design a work for the event. In addition to her visual artwork, Kusama is a writer, publishing poetry, novels and an autobiography.

Find a collection of Yayoi Kusama art on 1stDibs.

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Designer: Yayoi Kusama
Sneakers Louis Vuitton X Yayoi Kusama Time Out
By Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton
Located in Torre Del Greco, IT
Sneakers firmate Louis Vuitton in collaborazione con l’artista giapponese Yayoi Kusama, modello Time Out, realizzate in pelle bianca con diverse rappresentazioni floreali lunga tutta...
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21st Century and Contemporary Yayoi Kusama

Louis Vuitton Leather Bag by Yayoi Kusama
By Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Louis Vuitton - (Made in France) Monogram leather bag designed by the artist Yayoi Kusama. Circa 2012's. Additional information: Dimensions: Height: 26 cm, Length: 30 cm, Depth: 17...
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2010s French Yayoi Kusama

Louis Vuitton Capucines MM Bag Yayoi Kusama NEW Full-Set Worldwide Sold Out
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From the collection of SAVINETI we offer this super rare limited edition Louis Vuitton Capucines LV X YK: - Brand: Louis Vuitton - Model: Capucines Black - Yea...
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Louis Vuitton OnTheGo MM Bag Yayoi Kusama NEW Full-Set
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Located in Roosendaal, NL
From the collection of SAVINETI we offer this Louis Vuitton Onthego LV X YK: - Brand: Louis Vuitton - Model: OnTheGo - Year: 2023 - Condition: NEW / unused - M...
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Louis Vuitton by Yayoi Kusama polkadot lock-it handlebag
By Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton
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Louis Vuitton by Yayoi Kusama polkadot lock-it handlebag Black and white patent leather handle bag 26*17*33 cm
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Louis Vuitton Red Monogram Yayoi Kusama Neverfull MM Tote
By Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton
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This beauty is from Louis Vuitton's Yayoi Kusama Collection, crafted with vibrant red wave dots above the traditional LV monogram design, vachetta leather trim, straps and drawstring...
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Yayoi Kusama fashion for sale on 1stDibs.

Find an extraordinary range of authentic Yayoi Kusama fashion available on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing our collection of unique vintage and designer fashion to elevate your daily look or to introduce new colors to the dazzling formal wear in your wardrobe, this designer’s body of work includes elements of red and other tones. Customers who are interested in this designer might also find the work of Takashi Murakami, Pierre Balmain Paris, and Chanel appealing. On 1stDibs, find haute couture, vintage and designer Yayoi Kusama fashion from top boutiques around the world. Yayoi Kusama fashion prices can differ depending upon time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,800 and tops out at $12,649, while the average work can sell for $5,391.
Questions About Yayoi Kusama
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yayoi Kusama’s first Pumpkin sculptures were cast from a variety of materials including bronze, plastic and stainless steel. Pumpkin motifs are largely favored in Kusama’s sculptures and paintings. Find a selection of Kusama pumpkin art from some of the world’s top dealers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Yayoi Kusama is primarily a sculptor and installation artist, but she has also produced paintings, prints, decorative objects and video art over the course of her career. Her work generally falls under the categories of Pop art, Minimalism and Environmental art. Find a selection of Yayoi Kusama art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yayoi Kusama has stated that her artwork is an expression of her life, most notably her obsessive-compulsive neuroses. She admits to having a long fascination with repetitive patterns in nature and enjoying vigorous and psychedelic colors, the reflection of light, electric lights and the concept of infinite space. This is visible in her vibrant works of art, whether they’re paintings, installations, sculptures or even performances. On 1stDibs, find a variety of original artwork from top artists.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yayoi Kusama created a series of pumpkin art, both paintings and sculptures. In Japanese the word for pumpkin is kabocha, and to Kusama the large orange fruit is a symbol of a cheerful piece of her troubled childhood. Shop a collection of Kusama pumpkins from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yes, Yayoi Kusama is indeed still making art. Beloved for her immersive installations, her 2020 work ‘I Want to Fly to the Universe’, debuted at the New York Botanical Garden. Shop a selection of Yayoi Kusama pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yayoi Kusama's “Infinity Mirror Rooms” are on display in a number of locations around the world. They include The Broad in Los Angeles, California; the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark; The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia; and the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Yayoi Kusama art.

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