Acrylic on canvas

53 × 45.5 cm. 20 7/8 × 17 7/8 in.

Titled in English and Kanji, signed in English and dated on the reverse

LITERATURE
2016, Demythifying Japanese Women Artists: Yuki Katsura, Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, Yuko Nasaka, Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo, p.39
EXHIBITED
12 Oct – 2 Nov 2016, Demythifying Japanese Women Artists: Yuki Katsura, Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, , Yuko Nasaka, Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo
24 Nov – 15 Dec 2016, Demythifying Japanese Women Artists: Yuki Katsura, Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka, Yuko Nasaka, Nukaga Gallery, Osaka

PROVENANCE
Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo
30 Mar 2019, China Guardian Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 715
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

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

Flowing Mindscapes, Cosmic Soul Resonance
Yayoi Kusama’s Lyric Poem

Japanese avant-garde female artist Yayoi Kusama, born in 1929 in Nagano, Japan, pursued her artistic dream by travelling to the United States in 1957, becoming a full-time artist. Her creative expression spans various mediums, including flat paintings, sculptures, installations, and performance art. Although each form can stand independently, it also exhibits clear echoes and connections. Her seemingly random and chaotic brushstrokes are, in fact, meticulously crafted, allowing limited flat space to stack into abstract paintings with an infinite visual experience. This approach undoubtedly breaks the cognitive boundaries between Eastern and Western cultures, remaining avant-garde even from today’s perspective. The featured piece in this Spring auction is her abstract masterpiece, Raining No.2.

The Sole Rain-themed Oil Painting for Auction

The repetitive patterns seen in Raining No.2 are core elements in Yayoi Kusama’s visual vocabulary, evident in all her most significant works. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Kusama began using her art to eliminate hallucinations by compulsively replicating grids and arcs. Intensive artistic practice became her most effective form of self-therapy. In Raining No.2, thin and meandering lines flow in an irregular rhythm, creating a flowing effect on the flat surface, generating a spontaneously branching and infinitely derivative visual landscape. The continuous white lines resemble rain falling in a bustling urban setting. Looking at Kusama’s flat works from the 1980s, such pure abstract thematic pieces display strong originality, visible only between 1988 and 1992. Raining No.2 is currently the only oil painting in the market that represents the theme of rain. It not only integrates the artist’s unique technique but also releases a philosophical concept of infinity, propelling it forward as a pioneering creation in the art world.

Klein Blue: Essence of the Universe

In 1952, renowned French artist Yves Klein created a vibrant ultramarine pigment known as "Klein Blue", hailed as the blue closest to the essence of the universe. Four decades later, Yayoi Kusama interprets the myriad forms of raindrops in Raining No.2, revealing the original colour of the sky——Klein Blue, which not only represents the sky but also becomes water, and air, endowing all things in the world with infinite depth and freedom. The combination of white and Klein Blue infuses the work with an electrifying psychedelic vitality, allowing viewers to come closer to the artist’s boundless imagination and touch the liberated spirit behind the artwork. Kusama, with her exquisite technique and colour palette, materializes the interconnected interest of the universe, providing viewers with an immersive and dreamlike experience.

In 1980s, Yayoi Kusama started to earn recognition world-widely, as well as domestically. She participated in prime exhibition Avant-Garde Japan 1910-1970 in Pompidou Paris at the year of 1986. In 1988, she was invited to Hakone Open-air Museum to host a solo exhibition, Raining No.2 was created at the same year. As she reached the zenith of her artistic journey, Kusama became one of the most important living artists of our time.

Price estimate:
HKD: 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD: 383,100 - 638,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 4,800,000