Yayoi Kusama born in Matsumoto, Japan is one of the most influential female artist alive today. Her journey from a small village in Japan to one of the highest-selling artists in the world is filled with pain, suffering, and rejection.
A life in infinity.
The contemporary artist is known for her mind-blowing imagery and her famous infinity net. Her art represents the never-ending cosmos, cells, and atoms.
Yayoi Kusama- A life full of struggle.
A traumatic childhood reflects Kusama’s obsession with freedom in her works. As a child, she grew up in the traditional and male-dominated world of 1920’s Japan. Her mother never motivated her to be an artist, even tearing many of her paintings before she had a chance to finish them. She was also made to spy on her cheating father. All of these add to the anxiety, urgency, and longing for freedom that we witness in her artwork.
Since the beginning of her career, Yayoi Kusama struggled to establish herself as a successful artist. In her early days in New York, she had to face sexism, racism, and even plagiarism by more successful artists like her friend Andy Warhol.
Andy Warhol came to the show and said, Wow, fantastic, Yayoi! I like this so much. That influenced him and then he had a show. He covered the wall with images of a cow. When I saw it I was surprised, Andy picked up what I did and copied it in his show.
Kusama on her show, Aggregation.
Despite her uniqueness, Yayoi Kusama was unable to take her place in the art world which at the time only favored white men
This led to many depressive episodes and suicide attempts. In the documentary Kusama Infinity, she says: Despite being a revolutionary artist and activist, she never gained the love or recognition she deserved.
A career revival.
After losing everything and nearly two decades later, made a comeback. Painting from a psychiatric ward, the world finally accepted Yayoi Kusama for the brilliant artist she is. What is even more fascinating is that her work has become more popular since 2013, finding millions of fan following on social media.
Kusama went from an artist struggling to sell a painting for $75 to the most celebrated female artist, whose paintings are worth millions today.
