Yayoi Kusama continues to dominate the realm of contemporary art, and with it the global art market. Iconic for her influential pop art characteristics, polka dots, and twenty so called ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’. It’s likely you will have seen some of Kusama’s artistic creations before, and may even recall her signature red wig bob and spotty dresses.
Polka Dot Pumpkins and Universal Mirrors
Kusama’s kaleidoscopic polka dots have taken on many forms in her lifetime, originating in the 1950s but manifest more widely on the surface of her renowned pumpkins. A suitable subject as we approach the end of October and Halloween. These playful spotty pumpkins can be found in a multitude of colourways, but often within the range of reds, oranges, and greens. Kusama’s spooky pumpkins were introduced to her as a subject of her drawings due to her parents making their living by cultivating plant seeds.
Kusama describes that she sees a kind of humanity in the anthropomorphic pumpkins that she individually personifies. These attributes can be noticed by their apparent slumping or curvature, like the tender ‘Pumpkin 2000 (yellow)’. Yayoi described in an interview in 2015 that the reason behind this repeating motif is because “I love pumpkins … because of their humorous form, warm feeling, and a human-like quality and form.” It’s easy to see this shine through in the vibrant prints that are so rarely found in the secondary market, despite plenty of interest in them.
However, it is not just the pumpkins that draw us to Yayoi’s work but the steadfast commitment to incorporating polka dots in her prints, costumes, and fashionably vivid dress sense. These spots can be interpreted almost as infinitely as her signature Mirror Rooms that have recently been on display in London’s Tate Modern but the reason for the dots might not be what you think.
Yayoi has struggled with her mental health since childhood, having voluntarily entered herself into a psychiatric hospital in 1977 where she continues to live today. She tells the story of how when she was a child, she experienced a hallucination whilst in a field of flowers as they began talking directly to her. These flower heads were like dots that seemed to go on forever and she felt as if was disappearing into this infinity.
Whilst the dots create a sense of the abstract and fantastical for the viewer, Yayoi explains that through the process of creating them it serves a functional role to cope with her experiences of hallucination which started as a child, manifesting in a form of visions of bright lights, spots, and other patterns. By imbuing objects and spaces with these dots, we as the viewer are able to in some capacity understand her visions and experience of the world.
As well as adding a practical element that we associate with creative release, the effect of the polka dots is otherworldly and overwhelming. The Infinity Mirror Rooms are particularly spiritual and are immersive spaces and are head to toe covered with mirrors so that the glittering lights seem to be never ending. In this darkness, it is as if we are viewing the limitless connections of the universe, of which we can only see and encounter a minimal section of. Yayoi says that, “Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos.” Not only does she remind us of our inconsequentiality, but in many ways also grounds us peacefully with our place in the wide universe.
Why you should sell now!
Kusama’s striking impact and presence within the international art market cannot be underestimated. Despite being hugely loved as a character and artist, her flow of output of art in the market is limited and at the age of ninety five, it is unlikely to greatly increase in her lifetime. At some point in the future, the secondary market will grow exponentially with the number of her artworks for sale, and with this surge, their values will quickly plummet. Therefore, looking to sell now whilst the market is stable, would greatly increase a vendor’s chances of returning a higher value whilst the market remains in high demand from buyers, as it does right now.
