I am obviously a sucker for art! Yayoi is one of my fave, among others... Visiting the National Art Center Tokyo for Yayoi exhibition is definitely one of the highlight from my Tokyo trip,
The "My Eternal Soul" series, begun in 2009, is an ongoing project currently comprising over 500 paintings. In the early stages of production, Kusama used several sizes of canvas, measuring 162×130.3cm, or 162×162cm. Later, the size standardized to a quasi-square canvas measuring 194×194cm. The series is marked by astonishing variety, incorporating abstract patterns as well as natural forms. It represents the essence of Kusama’s art, and is an embodiment of all the elements of her corpus of work.
Interested in painting since childhood, Yayoi Kusama began to study nihonga (Japanese-style paintings) at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts. She became disenchanted with the course, and instead went on to create independently at her home in Matsumoto. In the 1950s, Kusama depicted abstract as well as natural forms, and developed a variety of motifs based on plant and animal forms, the planets and universe, and urban landscapes. Art critic Shūzō Takiguchi recognized her abilities and organized several solo exhibitions for her in Tokyo.
Kusama felt limited in Japan. In the autumn of 1957, she moved to the United States and settled down the following year in New York. Her Infinity Nets paintings, vast fields of canvas filled with monochrome strokes with no center, and no structure, quickly gained attention. Following that, her work revealed obsessions with sex and food. She produced furniture with appended soft sculpture phallic forms, accumulations and installations, as well as Happenings (performance art).
In 1973, Kusama returned to Tokyo due to ill health. She continued creating while staying in the hospital. Motifs of her work include polka dots, nets, and phallic imagery in paintings, sculptures, and installations. Vivid colors and figurative motifs emerged as new elements during this period. She also began work in media such as collage, engraving, and in the writing of fiction and poetry. Her straightforward expression related to the subjects of death, sex, and the infinite universe attracted new audiences. Her artistic horizons also broadened through a number of collaborations.
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xxx
text source: http://www.nact.jp/
