Dancing Pumpkin (YOR)

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[3 screens, 2 colors, 3 runs]
Year: 2004
Image: 39.5 x 56.3 cm (15.6 x 22.2 inches)
Sheet: 50×66 cm (19.7 x 26 inches)
Edition: 80
Artist’s Proofs: 8 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 5 PP
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 321
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE PUBLISHING LTD, Number 321, Illustrated page 185

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge

Created in 2004, Dancing Pumpkin (YOR) features a stylized, bulbous pumpkin covered in Kusama’s signature polka dots of varying sizes. The “YOR” in the title likely refers to the specific color scheme: typically Yellow, Orange, and Red. This pumpkin is depicted with rhythmic, segmented ridges that give it an organic yet highly structured appearance. Its title implies the form is rendered with a sense of joyous, dynamic movement, distinguishing it from her more static representations. The “dancing” quality is conveyed through the dynamic arrangement of the dots and the slightly anthropomorphic, animated shape of the pumpkin, which appears to vibrate or move.

For Kusama, the pumpkin is more than a simple vegetable; it is a profound symbol of resilience and comfort. Kusama often describes her pumpkins as a form of self-portraiture. She identifies with their “humorous form” and “warm, human-like quality,” viewing them as a reflection of her own spirit. She was first drawn to pumpkins as a child on her family’s seed farm, finding peace in their “spiritual balance” and “generous unpretentiousness” during a time when she began suffering from vivid hallucinations.

In postwar Japan, pumpkins were a staple food that represented survival and nourishment. By repeating the pumpkin motif, Kusama uses art as a therapeutic tool to gain control over her hallucinations and “self-obliterate” into the patterns of the universe. While this 2004 print is two-dimensional, the “dancing” theme has evolved into massive sculptures (like the 2020 version in Melbourne) that feature leg-like appendages, further emphasizing the pumpkin as a joyous, living entity that celebrates the “joy of living”.

Auction Results

SBI Art Auction: 25 October 2025
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 5,290,000 / USD 34,615

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing Pumpkin (YOR) (Kusama 321), 2004
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 80
Printed by Okabe Tokuzo

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 7 October 2025
Estimated: HKD 150,000 – 400,000
HKD 192,000 / USD 24,670

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing Pumpkin (YOR) (ABE 321), 2004
Screenprint
Edition: 64/80 + AP 8 + PP 5
Editioned, titled and dated ’64/80 YOR 2004′
Titled in Japanese (lower left)
Signed ‘Yayoi Kusama’ (lower right)

New Art Est Ouest Auctions: 24 September 2022
Estimated: JPY 4,500,000 – 6,500,000
JPY 8,470,000 / USD 59,085
AUCTION RECORD FOR DANCING PUMPKIN (YOR)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing Pumpkin (YOR), 2004
Screenprint
Pencil signed, dated, titled and numbered lower margin

Clars Auction: 16 September 2022
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 20,000
USD 22,500

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing Pumpkin (YOR), 2004
Screenprint
Pencil signed, dated, titled and numbered 57/80 lower margin

Mainichi Auction: 13 March 2021
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
JPY 4,300,000 (Hammer)
JPY 5,009,500 / USD 45,965

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing pumpkin (YOR), 2004
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 80

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 8 December 2020
Estimated: HKD 240,000 – 340,000
HKD 283,200 / USD 36,540

YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPANESE, B. 1929)
Dancing Pumpkin (YOR), 2004
Screenprint
Edition: 44/80
Editioned, titled, dated and signed ’44/80 (YOR) 2004 Yayoi Kusama’
Titled in Japanese (bottom)

Mainichi Auction: 25 January 2020
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
JPY 3,700,000 (Hammer)
JPY 4,310,500 / USD 39,440

YAYOI KUSAMA
Dancing pumpkin (YOR), 2004
Screenprint
Signed
Edition: 68/80