Pumpkin
Medium: Screen-print in colors on Mishima paper
[2 screens, 2 colors, 3 runs]
Year: 1986
Image: 90.2 x 72.2 cm (35.5 x 28.4 inches)
Sheet: 96 x 75.5 cm (37.8 x 29.7 inches)
Edition: 75
Artist’s Proofs: 10 AP
Printer: Ichida Ryoichi, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 93
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE PUBLISHING LTD, Number 93, Illustrated page 63
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge
Pumpkin (ABE 93) occupies a pivotal position in Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin corpus: balanced between the declarative intensity of the early 1980s and the compositional serenity she would reach in the 1990s. It is neither confrontational nor withdrawn. It is assured. It stands centrally, monumental yet contained, its ribs articulated through meticulously graded black polka dots set against a saturated yellow field. The modulation of dot size is exceptionally controlled: denser at the core, looser toward the edges, producing volume through accumulation rather than contrast. The form feels heavy, grounded, and stable: less a symbol under pressure than one comfortably occupying its space.
The black background, animated by fine yellow net-like lines, is active but disciplined. Unlike the sharper, more aggressive net structures seen in later works such as Pumpkin God, these lines remain fluid and organic. They recall Kusama’s infinity nets without overwhelming the composition. The background breathes, but it does not encroach. The pumpkin holds. Color plays a decisive role here. The yellow is bold yet measured, neither acidic nor muted. It asserts presence without spectacle. Against the black field, it reads as resilient rather than radiant. This is yellow as endurance, not exuberance. The stem, rendered in darker tones and dotted with restraint, anchors the top of the form with quiet authority. Technically, the print reflects Kusama’s mature command of repetition. The dots are exact but never sterile, revealing the human insistence behind their placement. Repetition here functions as stabilization: a means of organizing perception rather than overwhelming it.
Conceptually, Pumpkin feels like a moment of equilibrium. The motif has fully shed anecdote and has not yet acquired mythology. It stands as a resolved form: self-contained, confident, and unthreatened by its surroundings. The pumpkin is no longer defending itself against chaos; it has learned to coexist with it. In the broader arc of Kusama’s pumpkin imagery, this work exemplifies quiet authority. It does not provoke, dazzle, or dominate. It simply remains: solid, rhythmic, and unwavering.
Auction Results
Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 8 February 2025
Estimated: JPY 8,000,000 – 13,000,000
JPY 13,225,000 / USD 87,340
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (ABE 93), 1986
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 75
Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 18 June 2021
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 7,800,000 (Hammer)
JPY 9,087,000 / USD 82,455
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1986
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 75
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 19 January 2017
Estimated: HKD 120,000 – 180,000
HKD 350,000 / USD 45,120
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1986
Screen-print
Signed in English, titled, dated 1986 and numbered 75/75
SBI Art Auction: 25 October 2014
Estimated: JPY 1,800,000 – 2,800,000
JPY 3,680,000 / USD 34,025
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Kusama 93), 1986
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 75