Pumpkin (OG)
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[10 screens, 9 colors, 10 runs]
Year: 1992
Image: 38 x 45.7 cm (15×18 inches)
Sheet: 49.5 x 57 cm (19.5 x 22.4 inches)
Edition: 120
Artist’s Proofs: 12 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 4 PP
Publisher: Orient Gallery, Tokyo
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 156
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE PUBLISHING LTD, Number 156, Illustrated page 101
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge
Pumpkin (OG) perhaps stands as one of the most chromatically confident and structurally resolved expressions of Kusama’s pumpkin motif. By this point, the artist is no longer testing the form; she is orchestrating it. The pumpkin is constructed through a sophisticated variation of yellow and orange polka dots, modulated in scale to articulate volume with remarkable clarity. The dots are neither purely optical nor decorative; they function as architectural units, stacking rhythmically along the ribs to create a sense of internal gravity. The stem, rendered in a contrasting pink-violet tone, introduces a vertical accent that punctuates the composition without overpowering it—an unexpected but controlled deviation that signals Kusama’s ease with her own vocabulary.
The green ground, overlaid with blue net-like lines, is particularly telling. This is not a neutral backdrop but an active field—an echo of the infinity nets that have haunted Kusama’s work since the late 1950s. Yet here, the net is calm, even measured. It frames the pumpkin without threatening to absorb it. The form remains intact, centered, and composed, suggesting a reconciliation between repetition and containment. Color relationships are carefully calibrated. The green cools the composition, allowing the yellow to glow without aggression. The blue dots introduce depth and restraint, while the pink stem adds a discreet note of individuality. Unlike earlier works where color could heighten tension, here it operates in harmony. Nothing clashes; everything holds.
Technically, the print reflects Kusama’s full command of her graphic process. The registration is precise, the dot patterns meticulously balanced, and the surface retains a tactile clarity despite its complexity. Repetition is exacting but never sterile: each sequence feels intentional, not automated. Conceptually, this 1992 pumpkin reads as a statement of arrival. The motif no longer functions as protection against chaos, nor as an assertion of stability under pressure. It simply is. The pumpkin has become a self-sufficient form: rooted, confident, and internally complete.
If some pumpkin prints confront, and others console, this one settles. It exemplifies Kusama at her most assured: no excess, no defense, no spectacle. Just form, color, repetition, and a quiet, unwavering presence.
Auction Results
Mainichi Auction: 18 October 2025
Estimated: JPY 3,500,000 – 4,500,000
JPY 5,980,000 / USD 39,715
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG), 1992
ABE publishing (2017) No.156
Screenprint
Signed in the lower right margin
Titled “Pumpkin” in the lower center margin
Dated, ed.120 in the lower left margin
Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 19 July 2025
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 5,175,000 / USD 34,780
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG) (ABE 156), 1993
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
SBI Art Auction: 6 July 2024
Estimated: JPY 4,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 5,520,000 / USD 34,339
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG) (Kusama 156), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Mainichi Auction: 29 April 2023
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 10,120,000 / USD 74,274
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG) (ABE 156), 1993
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
SBI Art Auction: 28 January 2023
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 8,625,000 / USD 66,415
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG) (Kusama 156), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
K Auction: 22 June 2022
Estimated: KRW 90,000,000 – 120,000,000
KRW 103,500,000 / USD 80,111
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 93/120 on the front
Phillips New-York: 21 April 2022
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 75,600
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG) (K. 156), 1992
Screen-print in colors, on Arches paper
Signed, titled in Japanese, dated and numbered 15/120 in pencil
K Auction: 27 January 2022
Estimated: KRW 60,000,000 – 120,000,000
KRW 103,500,000 / USD 85,910
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (OG), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on the front
From the edition of 120