Collage, ink and pastel on paper

51.3 × 65.8 cm. 20 1/4 × 25 7/8 in.

Signed in English and dated on bottom right; signed in English, titled in Japanese and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
20 Jan 2018, Mainichi Auction Tokyo Paintings, Prints and Sculpture Auction, Lot 271
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a registration card issued by Yayoi Kusama studio

Infinity in the World as One Entity
Yayoi Kusama's World of Life

“The Earth is one world, while the universe is infinite. I believe my life or death, and the meaning of living, are merely small existences in the universe. I want to talk about some profound philosophies and the dignity of life. I want to represent the awe of these subjects in my works.”
——Yayoi Kusama

The exhibition Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now held by M+ Art Museum in Hong Kong in November 2022 divides the artist Kusama's creation into six themes: “Infinity”, “Accumulation”, “Radical Connectivity”, “Biocosmic”, “Death” and “Force of Life”. Among the topics, “Biocosmic” is presented as an independent main section for the first time and includes Kusama's series of Biocosmic from its first work in 1950 to now. “Biocosmic, a theme attaining less mention among Kusama's works, derives from her interest in organic objects,” said Mika Yoshida, the curator of this M+ exhibition. “Most of Kusama's memories of childhood come from plants because of her family. She mixes the organic elements from floras, and the theme is consistent throughout her whole artistic career.” “Biocosmic” is not only one of the significant branches in Kusama's creation but also the origin of her most famous series of Pumpkin.

As a child, Kusama was obsessed with nature and fascinated by the biological growth process. Many of her early works originated from observing flora in the nursery or surrounding areas. Since 1950, she has developed a principle to connect the celestial body and the human body in her systematic painting, where the universe functions as a unified law for the work of everything. So far, there are still lots of her works exploring the connections between the galaxies and cells. For this spring auction, we will have Kusama's Creature (1980), which presents the figures of an embryo and seed at the centre to deliver a compelling fissuring “universe” in Kusama's imagination.

On the lake-blue canvas symbolizing the galactic universe, the artist outlines an organic embryo with soft-focus carbon ink. She intentionally blurs the edge lines to depict a state of “being in motion” of the living entity, which is gradually swelling and growing. The red paint at the centre emphasizes the core of the embryo, in the middle of which the black lines connect the smaller species growing inside. The regular black lines seem like a variation of an “infinite net” forming layers of “cell wall” expanding from the centre, which suggests the continuity and infinity of life. For the collage part, Kusama juxtaposes three enlarged images of animals——a small lamp fish, an insect, and a golden monkey, presenting the life activities from the water, the ground, and the tree. Simultaneously, the bright red dot representing blood and life is jumping among them, which reminds us of the mysterious, powerful and spiritual power of nature.

Although the artist manipulates a “anatomical” perspective to exaggerate and enlarge the moving and breathing cells like still objects, we can still read the subtleties of nature and experience the delicate relationships between different species from this work, a piece of rich profundities.

Price estimate:
HKD: 400,000 – 600,000
USD: 51,000 – 76,400

Auction Result:
HKD: 480,000