YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPAN, B. 1929)

Yayoi Kusama uses her refined brushwork, and unique yellow and black blocks and patterns to delineate the body of the pumpkin, which is surrounded by delicate infinite geometric patterns of the same colors. Echoing one another, they morph into new guises in the cosmic transformation created by the artist. After the end of WWII, pumpkins were at one point an essential food for the survival of the Japanese people. From a young age, Kusama has had a deep fondness for the pumpkin—"an extraordinary hero in the ordinary life". "The appearance of the pumpkin is too adorable… What attracts me to her is that she doesn't wear any cover up, unashamed of her plump belly, and she has a tenacious spiritual power." This resilience and love of life is illuminated in the recurring portrayals of the motif by the artist. It is an ode to life that moves beyond the pumpkin and the canvas, extending itself infinitely into the real world.