When I was in Melbourne earlier this year I went to the Yayoi Kusama at National Gallery of Victoria exhibit. My first introduction to the Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama was when she did a collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2012. I liked some of the dotted LV bags but I never pulled the trigger. The exhibit in Melbourne was my first up close experience with her art.
From what I’ve been able to gather like most people(especially recognized artists) she’s a very complex character. Her family owned a plant nursery. By her own telling she had a traumatic early childhood and from the age of 10 she started having hallucinations that involved plants and flowers speaking to her. These visions inspired her signature dot motif. She checked herself into a psychiatric institute in Tokyo in the 1970s and never checked out.
According to Google, Kusama is now 96 years old. I think she’s a very shrewd business woman and a talented performance artist who has remained relevant and in demand for decades. I lucked out by having the exhibit in town when I was traveling. I won’t even begin to tell you how many photos I took. I found the different works displayed in the exhibit thought provoking, electrifying, and expansive.
Here’s an interesting short video of the artist here. Have a great weekend!
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Yes, I love her work and have seen it before and knew about her illness. I didn’t know that she had a difficult relationship with her parents though. I find her work very intriguing and on a general theme I have been contemplating about artwork and how it can reflect the nature of the artist by what they create. I’m glad she has created so much light even in her “darkness” (difficulties). Thanks for sharing again :)
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You are welcome. What an awesome artist right! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.