ZHONG CHENG

  • Zhong Cheng 2023 Autumn Auction「Modern And Contemporary Art」
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    YAYOI KUSAMA (b.1929)

    Pumpkin

    1997

    Acrylic on Canvas
    14.2 x 18 cm

    Signed on the reverse: Yayoi Kusama in English, titled in Japanese and dated 1997

    Estimate TWD 9,000,000-15,000,000
    USD 282,600-471,000
    HKD 0-0

    Hammer Price TWD 11,400,000
    USD 365,385
    HKD 2,871,537

This work is accompanied by a registration issued by YAYOI KUSAMA Inc.

Provenance：Mainichi Auction, Japan, June 6th, 2020 Lot 242

Illustrated：

Exhibition：

Exposition：

Yayoi Kusama is undeniably one of the most prominent and celebrated contemporary artist in Japan today. Her body of work is distinguished by its multidimensionality, multimedia approach and diversity. However, if one were to select her most emblematic symbol, the pumpkin would undeniably take center stage. Within her remarkable pumpkin series of artworks, one finds not just visually captivating art but also profound symbolism and a vibrant, pulsating life force. In this article, we embark on an in-depth exploration of Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin paintings, delving into the rich tapestry of meanings they encapsulate and her esteemed position within the annals of art history. Kusama's artistic journey transcends numerous mediums, encompassing painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, and literature. While her artistic style eludes easy categorization, it often intersects with minimalism, abstract expressionism, and pop art. Regardless, her art consistently pulsates with reflections on life, love, death, and the infinite.

Before Yayoi Kusama's renowned pumpkin works, her Infinity Net series made its debut in New York in 1959. She employed a continuous, interconnected web of densely layered, intricate brushstrokes that resembled delicate lacework. This technique allowed her to convey the sensory impressions and emotional landscape of her inner world. What began as intricate canvases soon extended to encompass entire rooms and exhibition spaces, immersing viewers in Kusama's artistic realm. This immersive quality owes its existence to Kusama's recurring hallucinations, which grew more intense over time. Consequently, she continued to employ this unique artistic vocabulary across a diverse range of media and themes. The pumpkin theme, in particular, holds profound significance within her artistic universe—a seemingly straightforward subject that unfolds into a multidimensional tapestry of meanings.

The pumpkin, for Kusama, serves as a emotional conduit to her childhood recollections. Raised in rural Japan, she was surrounded by vibrant and colorful pumpkin fields. The shapes and hues of pumpkins left a lasting impression in her mind, leading to their perpetual presence in her art. Kusama's creative works often find inspiration in her personal struggles with mental illness, inviting her to reevaluate the role of pumpkins in her life. Ultimately, she perceives pumpkins as symbols of life's unending cyclical nature, much like how pumpkin seeds germinate and proliferate ceaselessly. Pumpkins, for Kusama, encapsulate reflections on life, love, death, and the boundless multidimensionality of existence. In Yayoi Kusama's artworks, pumpkins frequently appear in various medium and styles, including paintings, sculptures, installation art, and her iconic Infinity Mirrored Rooms. This intrinsic multidimensionality is a mirror of her artistic quest for diversity and her unshakable faith in the infinite potentialities within our world and the cosmos.

Kusama's pumpkin paintings often adopt a minimalist approach, focusing primarily on a single, iconic pumpkin motif. However, beneath this apparent simplicity lies a rich symbolism and emotion. Kusama's pumpkin artworks are a reinterpretation of reality, elevating an everyday object to the realm of art. This transformative process showcases the artist's unique perspective and boundless creativity, while simultaneously transmitting the profound potency of art—the ability to metamorphose our perception of the mundane into the extraordinary.

Pumpkins have also become a means for Yayoi Kusama to explore her identity and self-awareness. In her works, Kusama often presents herself as a pumpkin, reflecting her introspection into questions of self-identity. This self-projection resonates with her Infinity Mirrored Rooms, where viewers encounter myriad reflections of themselves, portraying the multifaceted nature of self-awareness. Finally, pumpkin paintings signify a pursuit of boundless beauty. Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin works often feature patterns of infinite repetition, generating a visual effect of boundlessness. This infinite quality transports viewers into a realm beyond the constraints of reality, immersing them in art and allowing them to experience the presence of infinite beauty.

Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin paintings hold a significant position in the art world, acclaimed as classics of contemporary art. Her pumpkin series not only graces galleries and museums across the globe but also commands a formidable presence in the art market. Eagerly sought after by collectors and art enthusiasts, their value continues to soar. The widespread appeal of Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin works can be attributed to their universal significance and profound symbolism, interwoven with her childhood memories, the ceaseless flow of vitality, multidimensionality, and her unwavering dedication to the world of art. As one immerses themselves in Yayoi Kusama's artistic universe, these elements meld intricately, stirring the inner senses and thoughts of each viewer, prompting profound reflections on life, hope, and the boundless themes that define our existence.

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