YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)

Pumpkin (Lot 144), the bulbous, speckled pumpkin is a symbol of the artist herself, embodying Kusama's long-running investigations into personal identity and experience through her art. The solid, hearty vegetable of the earth, compellingly paired with her signature black dots, is one of the artist's most iconic and beloved motifs. Kusama's Pumpkins were the focus of the artist's exhibition at the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1993. Using black dots to offset the sharp yellow background, Kusama creates a rich visual sensation in this slightly off-kilter shape of a gleaming varnished surface. In it we find a liberating outlet for Kusama's psychological hardship as she generously shares her world with us.