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Lot Essay
The two lots offered in this sale are sculptural pieces of female figures that give us a glimpse into her world of hallucinations. Statue of Venus Obliterated by Infinity Nets (Lot 426) is an avant-garde twist on a classical iconic sculpture which is seductive, vibrant, and hypnotic. Self-obliteration (Lot 427) is a life-size mannequin, a stand-in human subsumed by the patterns that had threatened to overtake Kusama as a child.
In Statue of Venus Obliterated by Infinity Nets, Kusama places the Roman goddess of love and beauty in an enshrouded setting where both sculpture and background are covered with her signature Infinity Nets; distinctively intricate patterns that helped launch her career as one of the leading artists of the post-war period. The mannequin work Self-obliteration is a physical recreation of herself as she becomes engulfed by the organic patterns. They are rich in both visual and textural variety; the surface displays Kusama's technical skill as well as her physical and mental stamina. The netted "molecules" strewn over the bright surfaces draw the viewer into the details of the figures.
As a Japanese woman, Kusama grew up exposed to a wide array of remarkable patterns in the fabrics and textiles used to make traditional Japanese clothing - an early source of inspiration for her Infinity Nets which demonstrate her inherent understanding of complex design. An obsessional neurotic, Kusama uses her Infinity Nets paintings as a means of channelling her anxiety and expressing her artistic impulses. In a sense, Infinity Nets establish her identity as a female Japanese artist in the realm of a male-dominated, post-war art world. Stuart Preston, writing about Kusama's first major exhibition of her Infinity Nets paintings at New York's Stephen Radich Gallery in 1961, noted that, "The patience that has gone into the confection of [the paintings'] texture is astonishing and the concentrated pattern titillates the eye" (S. Preston, quoted in F. Morris (ed.), Yayoi Kusama, exh. cat., Tate Modern, London, 2012, p.53).
In painstaking detail, Kusama perseveringly painted one by one, the miniscule specks on large surface areas, sometimes until she passed out from exhaustion. It is her mental condition that makes her obsess in this way; in fact, she describes her art-making as both the symptom and the cure for her "obsession" and considers her work "psychosomatic art". During the process of painting her Infinity Nets, Kusama becomes mesmerised and transported into her own world; the nets she creates become the veil that shields her from reality. In the same way, the speckled Venus and mannequin is camouflaged by their surroundings, being consumed by the Infinity Nets that are all around. They are the reflection of the artist herself.
In Statue of Venus Obliterated by Infinity Nets, Kusama places the Roman goddess of love and beauty in an enshrouded setting where both sculpture and background are covered with her signature Infinity Nets; distinctively intricate patterns that helped launch her career as one of the leading artists of the post-war period. The mannequin work Self-obliteration is a physical recreation of herself as she becomes engulfed by the organic patterns. They are rich in both visual and textural variety; the surface displays Kusama's technical skill as well as her physical and mental stamina. The netted "molecules" strewn over the bright surfaces draw the viewer into the details of the figures.
As a Japanese woman, Kusama grew up exposed to a wide array of remarkable patterns in the fabrics and textiles used to make traditional Japanese clothing - an early source of inspiration for her Infinity Nets which demonstrate her inherent understanding of complex design. An obsessional neurotic, Kusama uses her Infinity Nets paintings as a means of channelling her anxiety and expressing her artistic impulses. In a sense, Infinity Nets establish her identity as a female Japanese artist in the realm of a male-dominated, post-war art world. Stuart Preston, writing about Kusama's first major exhibition of her Infinity Nets paintings at New York's Stephen Radich Gallery in 1961, noted that, "The patience that has gone into the confection of [the paintings'] texture is astonishing and the concentrated pattern titillates the eye" (S. Preston, quoted in F. Morris (ed.), Yayoi Kusama, exh. cat., Tate Modern, London, 2012, p.53).
In painstaking detail, Kusama perseveringly painted one by one, the miniscule specks on large surface areas, sometimes until she passed out from exhaustion. It is her mental condition that makes her obsess in this way; in fact, she describes her art-making as both the symptom and the cure for her "obsession" and considers her work "psychosomatic art". During the process of painting her Infinity Nets, Kusama becomes mesmerised and transported into her own world; the nets she creates become the veil that shields her from reality. In the same way, the speckled Venus and mannequin is camouflaged by their surroundings, being consumed by the Infinity Nets that are all around. They are the reflection of the artist herself.