Pumpkin (Y)

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[3 screens, 2 colors, 3 runs]
Year: 1992
Image: 15.6 x 22.5 cm (6.1 x 8.9 inches)
Sheet: 28 x 37.3 cm (11 x 14.7 inches)
Edition: 150
Artist’s Proofs: 15 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 4 PP
Hors Commerce: 1 HC
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 153
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE PUBLISHING LTD, Number 153, Illustrated page 99

Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge

Exploding with electric energy, Yayoi Kusama reimagines the traditional still life genre, rendering the humble pumpkin both playful and hypnotic. Pumpkin (Y) is brought to life through the striking juxtaposition of Kusama’s unmistakable black–yellow combination. Characteristically fitting with the artist’s eccentric personality, the print is a symbol of organized chaos. Patterns collide as the print integrates all three of Kusama’s signature motifs: the polka dots, the infinity nets, and the pumpkin itself.

Appearing to shift 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 which compromise the bed of tessellating geometric triangles which the pumpkin rests on, 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. In Pumpkin (Y), Kusama organizes her polka dots into vertical segmented forms to create a rhythmic visual oscillation. The dots appear to shift in size before our eyes, growing out of the paper and embracing illusion – just as Kusama has in her infinity rooms.

“Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood. They speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art.”

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, Kusama’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. Since 1970 Kusama has reimagined her beloved motif in various mediums and scales, celebrating their “unpretentious and simple beauty”; from its first 1946 rendition in the traditional Japanese Nihonga style, to the monumental black and yellow sculptures which have stood on Naoshima Island, Japan, and in Kensington Gardens, London. 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.

Source: Phillips

Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 13 July 2023
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
JPY 7,245,000 / USD 52,435
AUCTION RECORD FOR PUMPKIN (Y)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Y), 1992
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 150

Auction Results