Yayoi Kusama “Monochrome”

Ota Fine Arts

Finished

Artists

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama is the only Japanese figure to have been featured in the American magazine Time’s 100 Most Influential People in April 2016. She was named the ‘World’s Most Popular Artist’ based on a survey of museum attendance around the world by The Art Newspaper in 2014, and her large-scale retrospective exhibition toured around East Asia, Latin America and Scandinavia in the following year. From 2017 onwards, North America and Southeast Asia tours have been scheduled and its energy has no bounds. On this occasion, Ota Fine Arts introduces a painting series entitled ‘Infinity Net’ which reveals the monochrome view of Yayoi Kusama. At first sight, each surface seems to be painted with a single colour of white or grey, however, in detail the paintings are filled with the accumulation of infinity arcs drawn by elaborate brush strokes. The irregular bumps produced by each arc, and their continuously changing surfaces caused by the light and each of their shades, maintains a strong materiality and creates an eternally repeating rhythm which intrigues the audience. Kusama nowadays is well known for her colorful and ‘pop’ works, as well as polka dots and pumpkin motifs, however the starting point can be said to be the monochrome ‘Infinity Net’ series. This series was shown for the first time in New York in 1959. White nets cover a black background and another layer of white glazes on top. Her high individuality and artistry is above the rareness of ‘being Japanese and female’ and received praises from art critics such as Donald Judd and Dore Ashton. According to Kusama the meshes of a net is a reversal image of accumulated polka-dots, and these two are in negative-positive relations. “Where does the starting point for this repetitive method for such patterns lie? - I would cover a canvas with nets, then continue painting them on the table, on the floor, and finally on my own body”. Kusama who had been experiencing hallucinations where her surroundings get covered completely with one pattern of polka-dots or nets, overcame her fear by repeatedly painting the same motif obsessively which relieved her own internal images. Kusama continues to paint ‘Infinity Net’ occasionally, as if to return to her starting point, suggesting that it is an essential series for the artist. This exhibition presents five ‘Infinity Net’ paintings including three new works painted for this occasion, and one ‘Polka-Dot’ painting.

Schedule

Jun 25 (Sat) 2016-Jul 30 (Sat) 2016