Meet a contemporary artist whose paintings sell for huge sums of money. Her name is Yayoi Kusama, and she’s 88 years old. And although she continues to be an active artist, she is now in a psychiatric hospital. Let’s talk in detail about this artist’s talent.
The record price of her painting is 7 100 000 000 million dollars. It was sold at the Christies auction in 2014. The canvas was called ‘White No. 28’.
The artist is originally from Japan. Even in childhood, parents noted that the girl was unhealthy. She often had suicidal thoughts, and also Kusama suffered from hallucinations. In the beginning of creativity, she had her own characteristic handwriting – she covered different objects with peas. Her artistic talent is innate, as she only attended art school for a year.
Most of the works are characterised by a sexual nature.
In the 1960s, the artist changed her style and began to cover objects with phallic protrusions. It was furniture, shoes and various interior items. Here, for example, look at the creation called ‘Accumulation N 2’. It is based on an ordinary sofa, which Kusama decorated with fabric protrusions. The overall look is menacing and even absurd.
In 1957, the artist decided to move to New York, where she became really famous. To create a bright image and stand out against the background of competitors, she made every possible use of her origin, mental illness and gender. In the United States, she began to be considered a leader of the avant-garde artistic movement.
The works clearly show features of minimalism, surrealism and pop art. Very often they contain an autobiographical essay, as well as sexual and psychological overtones.
Kusama considers herself an ‘unobtrusive artist’.
Drawing is not her only hobby. She also tries her hand at writing poetry and designing clothes. For several years she has been working with Louis Vuitton and created a whole epathetic collection for the famous brand.
As the artist notes, her paintings are self-muting. Dots and lines help her to drown out the noise in her head, which often prevents her from concentrating.
In recent years, interest in the work of this extraordinary woman has waned, so Kusama returned to Japan. She is now in an insane asylum.
But she continues to create. Her paintings still decorate famous exhibitions and are actively sold.
