MoMA

• relevant artists

  • KUSAMA YAYOI

    KUSAMA YAYOI was one of the most prominent avant-garde artists of postwar Japan, known for her diverse body of work spanning painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and literature. In 1957, she moved alone to the United States and began working in New York. During the 1960s, she gained attention for her use of polka dots and repetitive motifs, while engaging with artistic and social currents such as minimalism, pop art, feminism, and anti-war activism, and gradually earned international acclaim. Kusama’s works frequently feature repeated motifs such as polka dots, net patterns, and pumpkins. These visual elements are closely connected to the hallucinations, obsessive imagery, and repetitive visions she experienced from childhood. They blur the boundaries between self and universe, reality and fantasy, creating immersive experiences. Kusama repeatedly spoke of the vital role that art played in her life and creative practice. Her works are housed in major institutions around the world, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka. Kusama is regarded as one of the most renowned and influential artists of the contemporary era.