Goldfish Bowl

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[6 screens, 5 colors, 6 runs]
Year: 1984
Image: 45.5 x 53 cm (17.9 x 20.9 inches)
Sheet: 53.5 x 64 cm (21.1 x 24 inches)
Edition: 100
Artist’s Proofs: 10 AP
Printer: Ishida Ryoichi, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 31
ABE Publishing Ltd., Yayoi Kusama: Prints 1979-2017, Tokyo, 2017, Number 31, Illustrated page 29

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge

 

Goldfish Bowl is a striking example of Kusama’s signature style. It uses a vibrant neon palette, with bold contrasts of reds, blacks, and greens against a dark background. The composition features a goldfish bowl and the fish within it, rendered with the artist’s characteristic obsessive visual language and intricate, repetitive patterns (likely her famous polka dots and nets). The background features botanical patterns, contributing to a dense, dreamlike atmosphere.

Goldfish Bowl, like other works in the “Sea Creatures” series, reflects several key themes in Kusama’s oeuvre:

• Obsession and Repetition: The meticulous and extensive use of patterns, a hallmark of Kusama’s work, is a visual representation of her personal psychological experiences, including hallucinations she has had since childhood.
• Infinity and Self-Obliteration: The repetitive motifs create a sense of endlessness, symbolizing the artist’s desire to dissolve her ego and merge with the infinite cosmos. The fish, as individual forms within a vast, patterned environment, reflect her belief in the interconnectedness of all things.
• Awe of Nature: The depiction of aquatic life and botanical patterns showcases her wonder at the intricate forms and textures found in nature.
• Contrast and Duality: The work contrasts the contained world of the goldfish bowl with the implied vastness of the ocean, exploring the themes of the individual within a larger, infinite universe.

Goldfish Bowl was released in the 1980s, a period when Kusama had returned to Japan and was working prolifically, particularly in printmaking. Printmaking, with its inherent ability for reproduction and proliferation of images, was a natural fit for Kusama’s style, which revolves around repetition and accumulation. This print is part of a broader collection of screenprints featuring aquatic life, demonstrating her ongoing exploration of diverse natural motifs alongside her more famous pumpkins and dots.

 

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Auction Results

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YAYOI KUSAMA
Goldfish Bowl, 1984
Color serigraph
Signed, dated and numbered by the artist
From the edition of 100

New Auction: 28 June 2025
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 2,183,000 / USD 15,095

YAYOI KUSAMA (1929-)
Goldfish Bowl (Kusama 31), 1984
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 100

SBI Art Auction: 23 May 2025
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 2,760,000 / USD 19,360

YAYOI KUSAMA
Goldfish Bowl (Kusama 31), 1984
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 100

Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 19 October 2023
Estimated: JPY 3,500,000 – 4,500,000
JPY 4,140,000 / USD 27,690

YAYOI KUSAMA
Goldfish Bowl, 1984
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 100

Ravenel Taipei: 2 June 2024
Estimated: TWD 480,000 – 700,000
TWD 1,320,000 / USD 40,740

YAYOI KUSAMA (Japanese, 1929)
Goldfish Bowl (ABE 31), 1984
Silkscreen
Signed lower right Yayoi Kusama
Numbered lower left 29/100
Titled lower center Goldfish Bowl in Kanji and dated 1984

Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 30 October 2021
Estimated: JPY 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
JPY 3,600,000 (Hammer)
JPY 4,194,000 / USD 36,795

YAYOI KUSAMA
Goldfish Bowl, 1984
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 100