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拍品专文
“I wanted to examine the single dot that was my own life. One polka dot: a single particle among billions”—Yayoi Kusama
(Y. Kusama, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, London, 2011, p. 23).
Covering the canvas, the dots on Yayoi Kusama’s Untitled compose an infinite universe meant to extend far beyond the canvas. Thick white impasto layers trace the small looping gestures and swirls of her hand over a thin surface of dark paint. This gentle and quiet approach is an active painting that allows us to follow her traces. By reading the surface of the canvas we can understand every single mark on this painting and imagine what the process feels like. Kusama loses herself in a serial acivity as a means to quiet the mind. This is Kusama’s infinity. Captured in the finite dimensions of a canvas, Untitled is a glimpse into the artist’s mind, not simply a moment in time.
Kusama was first inspired for the series in 1957 when crossing over the Pacific Ocean flying from Tokyo to Seattle, and watching the crests and swells of the ocean from the distance. This perspectival shift awakened a desire to begin a series and style of paintings that would continue throughout her career. By stepping back and appreciating the overall composition we are able to understand how this gestural paiting comes to be. The different zones of the painting each have their own character; as a result the entire painting is filled with optical flow.
(Y. Kusama, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, London, 2011, p. 23).
Covering the canvas, the dots on Yayoi Kusama’s Untitled compose an infinite universe meant to extend far beyond the canvas. Thick white impasto layers trace the small looping gestures and swirls of her hand over a thin surface of dark paint. This gentle and quiet approach is an active painting that allows us to follow her traces. By reading the surface of the canvas we can understand every single mark on this painting and imagine what the process feels like. Kusama loses herself in a serial acivity as a means to quiet the mind. This is Kusama’s infinity. Captured in the finite dimensions of a canvas, Untitled is a glimpse into the artist’s mind, not simply a moment in time.
Kusama was first inspired for the series in 1957 when crossing over the Pacific Ocean flying from Tokyo to Seattle, and watching the crests and swells of the ocean from the distance. This perspectival shift awakened a desire to begin a series and style of paintings that would continue throughout her career. By stepping back and appreciating the overall composition we are able to understand how this gestural paiting comes to be. The different zones of the painting each have their own character; as a result the entire painting is filled with optical flow.