Pumpkin (RY)

Medium: Screen-print in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[3 screens, 2 colors, 3 runs]
Year: 1996
Image: 22.8 x 29.8 cm (9 x 11.7 inches)
Sheet: 32.5 x 40 cm (12.8 x 15.7 inches)
Edition: 120
Artist’s Proofs: 12 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 5 PP
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo
Literature: ABE 233
ABE Publishing Ltd., Yayoi Kusama: Prints 1979-2017, Tokyo, 2017, plate no. 233, page 139

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge

 

Bursting forth from a red, crackled background is Yayoi Kusama’s iconic motif: the polka-dot pumpkin. Characteristically fitting with the artist’s eccentric personality, the print is a symbol of organized chaos. Seemingly shifting in size before our eyes, the dots which compose the pumpkin symbolize the obliteration of the self and the vast cosmos, whereas the mesh-like infinity nets that blanket the background represent the interconnectedness of life. Combined with her dots, the composition becomes a repetitive meditation, a therapeutic relief which allows the artist to combat anxiety.

The pumpkin has preoccupied Kusama since her childhood in Japan, stemming from her family’s nursery business and her early experiences of hallucinations; specifically, a pumpkin which spoke to her younger self from a vine. However, where some of Kusama’s visions are terrifying, the artist’s fascination with the fruit is drawn from its “humorous form” and the “warm feelings” it evokes. Kusama frequently recalls the “human–like” essence of pumpkins, offering each print its own personality, individually personified. Kusama exaggerates the postures of the pumpkins, ranging from slumping to proud, large or diminutive. By continuing her exploration of self-obliteration through her pumpkins, the artist continues her creation of what she calls “Kusama world” – a unique, immersive artistic universe, characterized by her obsessive polka dots, infinity rooms, and, most importantly, pumpkins.

 

 

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Auction Results

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YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 120

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 120

Christie’s online: 13 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 150,000 – 260,000
HKD 327,600 / USD 42,136

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screen-print
Numbered ‘100/120’ (lower left)
Titled in Japanese and dated ‘1996’ (lower middle)
Signed ‘Yayoi Kusama’ (lower right)

Mainichi Auction: 29 October 2022
Estimated: JPY 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
JPY 6,300,000 (Hammer)
JPY 7,339,500 / USD 49,770

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 120

Mainichi Auction: 3 June 2022
Estimated: JPY 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
JPY 6,800,000 (Hammer)
JPY 7,922,000 / USD 60,490

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 120

K Auction: 25 May 2022
Estimated: KRW 80,000,000 – 100,000,000
JPY 88,550,000 / USD 70,215

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 40/120 on the front

K Auction: 23 March 2022
Estimated: KRW 60,000,000 – 90,000,000
JPY 73,600,000 / USD 60,585

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY), 1996
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on the front

SBI Art Auction: 29 January 2022
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 6,095,000 / USD 52,904

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (RY) (Kusama 233), 1996
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120