Lot Essay
Kusama's output is at once a symptom of the transcendent objectification many artists strive to achieve, but also a psychosomatic remedy for the artist: "waves are naturally generated when I paint, and that has a very good effect on me... making me feel rhythm and vibration." (kusama, exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, 2009, p.87, originally in "Yayoi Kusama with Midori Matsui," p. 50).
Since their inception, as a description from 1965 demonstrates, the premise of the Infinity Nets has not changed over time: "My Net paintings were very large canvases without composition--without begining, end or center. The entire canvas would be occupied by a monochromatic net. This endless repetition caused a kind of dizzy, empty, hypnotic feeling." (Interview with Gordon Brown, kusama, exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, 2009, p. 83, originally quoted in De nieuwe stijk.The New Style: Wek van de internationale avant-garde, vol. 1 (Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 1965, p. 163-64).
But the reticulation and the thickness of her brushstrokes, as well as her color choices, have changed, leaving room for an expressionist analysis of her mechanical deed. The vibrant optical effects in some of her blue and red works, which give a sense of urgency, feel quite different in tone from the ambient, subdued buzz of the white and salmon Infinity Nets of 2004. There is no doubt that Kusama, master agent of her own destiny, would ever leave color or any other choice to chance and considering the direct healing effect painting provides Kusama, one might seek explanations in her mood, and in material circumstances, for these distinctions.
Testament to Kusama's extraordinary life, her powerful Infinity Nets at once displace and affirm her fascination with her own mortality:"With my inexhaustible energies, I create paintings and sculptures every day from morning until night. All I think about is creating art works, rather than thinking about getting old." ("I Will Struggle with Art as Long as I Live," Kusama, exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, 2009, frontispiece).
Since their inception, as a description from 1965 demonstrates, the premise of the Infinity Nets has not changed over time: "My Net paintings were very large canvases without composition--without begining, end or center. The entire canvas would be occupied by a monochromatic net. This endless repetition caused a kind of dizzy, empty, hypnotic feeling." (Interview with Gordon Brown, kusama, exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, 2009, p. 83, originally quoted in De nieuwe stijk.The New Style: Wek van de internationale avant-garde, vol. 1 (Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 1965, p. 163-64).
But the reticulation and the thickness of her brushstrokes, as well as her color choices, have changed, leaving room for an expressionist analysis of her mechanical deed. The vibrant optical effects in some of her blue and red works, which give a sense of urgency, feel quite different in tone from the ambient, subdued buzz of the white and salmon Infinity Nets of 2004. There is no doubt that Kusama, master agent of her own destiny, would ever leave color or any other choice to chance and considering the direct healing effect painting provides Kusama, one might seek explanations in her mood, and in material circumstances, for these distinctions.
Testament to Kusama's extraordinary life, her powerful Infinity Nets at once displace and affirm her fascination with her own mortality:"With my inexhaustible energies, I create paintings and sculptures every day from morning until night. All I think about is creating art works, rather than thinking about getting old." ("I Will Struggle with Art as Long as I Live," Kusama, exh. cat. Gagosian Gallery, 2009, frontispiece).