Yayoi Kusama

The post-war artist that Japan is proud of, Yayoi Kusama beautifully turns her hallucination into one-of-a-kind art pieces. Ways to overcome her disease since younger age, painting is always her remedy. After learning traditional Japanese art in Kyoto, Kusama moves to the United States in 1957 by herself. Based in the New York City over 16 years stay in USA, the artist creates the most significant works such as infinity nets, soft sculptures by accumulations, happenings, etc. Kusama proves herself as the most edgy artist using with her body and passion. Right after going back to Japan, Kusama’s existence firstly gets into media by writing novels or appearance on movies, but her solid success as an artist blooms at a solo show of the 53th Venice Biennial in 1993. Following international acclaims, Benesse House commissions Kumsa for a huge yellow pumpkin sculpture as their main public art project in art district, Naoshima in the same year. Kusama gains her fame for having retrospective exhibitions in the world’s most prominent museums such as MoMa (New York), the Whitney Museum (New York), Pompidou Center (Paris) and Tate Modern (London). The Artist receives Order of Arts and Letters (L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by French government, The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, Honorary Citizen of Matsumoto city, Person of Cultural Merits, etc. It should be also mentioned that the inspiration of “pumpkin” is rooted in her family business, plant seed and plant supplier.