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Lot Essay
Infinity Nets (KGFZH) stands out with its ivory splendour as a rare exemplar from Yayoi Kusama’s most iconic series, the “Infinity Nets”. The unusual palette of this exceptional piece evokes her “White Infinity Nets” series which was first exhibited in New York in 1959 and signalled a new chapter in the artist’s long and illustrious career. Infinity Nets (KGFZH), appearing for the first time at Christie’s Evening Sale, was created during Kusama’s mature period. While this work witnesses her experimental and transformative process that has spanned over half a century, it is also precisely its consistency in leitmotif across the years that solidifies the unquestionable status of this painting as one of singular importance. As the artist once remarked, “This was my epic, summing up all I was. And the spell of the dots and the mesh enfolded me in a magical curtain of mysterious, invisible power”.
In Infinity Nets (KGFZH), Kusama weaves a labyrinthine web across the canvas. Intricately connected brushstrokes repeat themselves to create a mesmerising space that multiples with the dissonance of psychedelia. From the 1980s onwards, Kusama has shifted from oil to acrylic paint, a soluble medium that echoes her earlier experiment in the traditional medium of Nihonga. Through the artist’s careful orchestration that almost pertains to compulsion, the paint flows like ink on the surface to juxtapose with the thickly applied dots. The overall effect is one that creates a kaleidoscopic expression about its accentuated texture, but also releases a burst of energy fuelled with the most delicate of her emotions. Staying true to her idiosyncratic visual idioms, Kusama broke free from the confines of Extreme Minimalism and Conceptual Art. Under her hand, every single brushstroke of impasto works together to activate her modus operandi and to unlock its full potential that appeals to our senses of sight as well as touch. Ultimately, it is no exaggeration to say that this painting represents her most sincere pursuit of an eternal dream. Repetition, boundlessness, and abundance—these are the means through which Kusama attains salvation, or even “self-obliteration”, in her world of unique vision. Here, she returns to “the infinity of eternal time and the absolute of space” (Yayoi Kusama, quoted in Yayoi Kusama, L. Hoptman, A. Tatehata and U. Kultermann (eds.), London, 2000, p. 36). All in all, Infinity Nets (KGFZH) stands not only for Kusama’s persistence in achieving technical excellence. It also is the culmination of her unmatched imagination within the avant-garde art world. Nowhere is this better manifested in its off-white infinity net that maps out an ever-expanding horizon—not only does it testify to the artist’s unrivalled creativity, it also symbolises her quest for a timeless vision.
In Infinity Nets (KGFZH), Kusama weaves a labyrinthine web across the canvas. Intricately connected brushstrokes repeat themselves to create a mesmerising space that multiples with the dissonance of psychedelia. From the 1980s onwards, Kusama has shifted from oil to acrylic paint, a soluble medium that echoes her earlier experiment in the traditional medium of Nihonga. Through the artist’s careful orchestration that almost pertains to compulsion, the paint flows like ink on the surface to juxtapose with the thickly applied dots. The overall effect is one that creates a kaleidoscopic expression about its accentuated texture, but also releases a burst of energy fuelled with the most delicate of her emotions. Staying true to her idiosyncratic visual idioms, Kusama broke free from the confines of Extreme Minimalism and Conceptual Art. Under her hand, every single brushstroke of impasto works together to activate her modus operandi and to unlock its full potential that appeals to our senses of sight as well as touch. Ultimately, it is no exaggeration to say that this painting represents her most sincere pursuit of an eternal dream. Repetition, boundlessness, and abundance—these are the means through which Kusama attains salvation, or even “self-obliteration”, in her world of unique vision. Here, she returns to “the infinity of eternal time and the absolute of space” (Yayoi Kusama, quoted in Yayoi Kusama, L. Hoptman, A. Tatehata and U. Kultermann (eds.), London, 2000, p. 36). All in all, Infinity Nets (KGFZH) stands not only for Kusama’s persistence in achieving technical excellence. It also is the culmination of her unmatched imagination within the avant-garde art world. Nowhere is this better manifested in its off-white infinity net that maps out an ever-expanding horizon—not only does it testify to the artist’s unrivalled creativity, it also symbolises her quest for a timeless vision.