Pumpkin

The bulbous Pumpkin (Lot 103) is one of the most iconic and beloved motifs of Yayoi Kusama. The pumpkin is at once profoundly autobiographical and surreal, with an onslaught of bedecked with a myriad of glistening dots juxtaposed against crystallised formations in red, the Pumpkin is bursting with psychedelic vibrancy. The red and black colour palette of Pumpkin reminds Kusama's attempts to come to terms with her demons, "You might say that I came under the spell of repetition and aggregation. My nets grew beyond myself and beyond the canvases I was covering with them. They began to cover walls, the ceiling, and finally the whole universe. I was always standing at the center of the obsession, over the passionate accretion and repetition inside me." (Y. Kusama, quoted in L. Hoptman, A. T atehata, and U. Kultermann, Yayoi Kusama, London, 2001, p.103). This optical effect is a testament of the artist's attention to detail; each section is attended to with precision and devotion. The result is a light and playful intermingling of patterns and mesmerising in its rhythmic quality. Kusama's repetition of black dots and mosaic patterns epitomises the visual illusions she experienced throughout her life, therefore, pumpkin is an invitation to share with her the surreal visual journey of her inner world.