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拍品专文
A VISUAL WORLD OF PURITY
As early as the Edo period, the colour white was considered the pinnacle of beauty. Geishas often painted their face, neck, and upper back with white powder. The shiromuku wedding garment that brides wear for Shinto weddings is a kimono that is white inside and out. It symbolises the bride’s purity of mind and body, as the colour white is born out of purity. Yayoi Kusama was born in Japan almost 90 years ago. Even though her hometown gifted her with a rich cultural foundation, the new-found freedom after World War II served as a catalyst for her desire to extricate herself from abstract ideologies, leading to her move to the United States - the centre of the art world at the time. Because of language barriers and cultural differences, art was the sole channel through which Kusama could directly express herself. After Kusama arrived in the United States in 1957, she began painting her famed series Infinity Net.
WHITE AS THE ORIGINAL COLOUR
It is very likely that white was one of the first colours that Yayoi Kusama used to create her Infinity Nets, and may be regarded as the series’ original hue. Amongst the myriad fascinating pieces in Kusama’s oeuvre, Infinity Net is possibly the series that is most beloved by the public, held in high esteem in contemporary art history. Kusama executed Infinity Net paintings in many different colour combinations. Amongst all the variations, white Infinity Net paintings seem to have a personal significance to the artist. INFINITY NETS(TWQPA) (Lot 30) is a boundless realm woven with innumerable white half circles while a field of silver grey is visible in the background. The net of dots used in this series was inspired by visual hallucinations that Kusama experienced since she was a child. Not only does the picture dazzle the viewers’ vision, it also embodies the artist’s complicated emotions while she laboriously executed this painting. Yayoi Kusama primarily used a palette of black, white, and grey to create minimalistic Infinity Net paintings between 1950s and 1960s. The works that follow were mostly painted using various colours. Paintings in white were rarely seen in the next few decades. It was not until the turn of the millennium did viewers see the return of white Infinity Net paintings with silver grey background. It is as though the artist held the sacred purity of white in such reverence that she did not revisit Infinity Net paintings in white until half a century later.
THE CONCEPT OF INFINITY
What is infinity? How can infinity be expressed? This is possibly the most intriguing yet the most unfathomable concept that humankind has developed. Infinity encompasses the characteristics of being endless, boundless, and limitless. It is a number that continues eternally and increases ceaselessly. It is a journey that keeps on progressing. Ancient Romans used the symbol ‘∞’ to represent an extremely large number. English mathematician John Wallis first introduced the use of this symbol in mathematics to represent infinity in 1656. Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi mentioned the concept of infinity in his work Tian Xia , “If from a stick a foot long you every day take the half of it, even over many ages it will not be exhausted.”
In the field of visual arts, Yayoi Kusama responds to the concept of infinity brilliantly with the paintbrush. She was able to transform infinity from an abstract concept into tangible objects through her paintings. These works address one of the greatest questions in human history. She declared in an interview, “The nets that I paint not only transcend me, they transcend the canvas. These nets continue to spread to the walls, and the ceiling. Ultimately, they cover the entire universe.” As demonstrated in the work offered in this auction, every brushstroke commands the dots to spread in all directions. Although the dots are restricted by the physical size of the canvas, viewers can imagine that the sinuous white lines continue to spread organically towards an abstract space. As if to engulf everything around it, this painting will not be stopped until the entire universe is one with the Infinity Net.
A SEMINAL FIGURE IN THE ART WORLD
Yayoi Kusama's contribution to the development of the post-war art scene cannot be overstated. The Infinity Net series participated in many emerging art movements at the time, and it ushered in Pop Art and Minimalism. Yayoi Kusama considered Andy Warhol a close friend, and she said in jest that Warhol’s late-career output was inspired by her 1963 installation One Thousand Boats Show. When viewing the present painting, audiences are lured into its net by the repeated circular brushstrokes. This use of lines is reminiscent of Post-Impressionist master Van Gogh’s brushwork. If we were to adjust his work into a monochrome palette, it would become apparent that although seemingly different, Kusama’s net strangely resembles Van Gogh’s. This treatment compels the viewers to resonate with the artists’ tumultuous emotions. The reduced palette of this particular Infinity Net painting is akin to Robert Ryman’s minimalist work. Ryman was experimenting with the many possibilities of the painting medium expressed on textured surfaces, while Kusama was discovering her desire to express herself despite engaging in “self-obliteration” — the former is relatively rational, while the latter is much more emotional. Although Kusama is often associated with many important avant-garde artists, she has never declared her allegiance to any particular art movement. She only declares her style as ‘Kusama Art’.
When Kusama debuted Infinity Net at her first solo exhibition in 1959 at Brata Gallery, minimalist pioneer Donald Judd recognised the significance of these work. He became the first collector of Kusama’s works from this exhibition. Her touring retrospective exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Obsessions was the most visited exhibition in the world in 2015. Whenever museums show her Infinity Mirrors installation work, it always attracts millions of visitors.
Amongst the many fantastically coloured works that Kusama made over the course of her prolific creative career, white Infinity Nets can be considered the most archetypal work, representing the very core of her artistic practice. This also explains why the highest auction record to date is a white Infinity Net painted in 1960. The painting offered in this auction can be considered a continuation of this early piece. It is Kusama’s reinterpretation of her own groundbreaking work, which also encapsulates the original vision of this piece. When asked about her outlook on life, Kusama said, “My life is only a single dot that is lost amongst thousands of other dots”. To Kusama, every dot is a life unto itself. Even though each individual is as tiny as a grain of sand in this massive universe, each dot and each line is unique and irreplaceable.
As early as the Edo period, the colour white was considered the pinnacle of beauty. Geishas often painted their face, neck, and upper back with white powder. The shiromuku wedding garment that brides wear for Shinto weddings is a kimono that is white inside and out. It symbolises the bride’s purity of mind and body, as the colour white is born out of purity. Yayoi Kusama was born in Japan almost 90 years ago. Even though her hometown gifted her with a rich cultural foundation, the new-found freedom after World War II served as a catalyst for her desire to extricate herself from abstract ideologies, leading to her move to the United States - the centre of the art world at the time. Because of language barriers and cultural differences, art was the sole channel through which Kusama could directly express herself. After Kusama arrived in the United States in 1957, she began painting her famed series Infinity Net.
WHITE AS THE ORIGINAL COLOUR
It is very likely that white was one of the first colours that Yayoi Kusama used to create her Infinity Nets, and may be regarded as the series’ original hue. Amongst the myriad fascinating pieces in Kusama’s oeuvre, Infinity Net is possibly the series that is most beloved by the public, held in high esteem in contemporary art history. Kusama executed Infinity Net paintings in many different colour combinations. Amongst all the variations, white Infinity Net paintings seem to have a personal significance to the artist. INFINITY NETS(TWQPA) (Lot 30) is a boundless realm woven with innumerable white half circles while a field of silver grey is visible in the background. The net of dots used in this series was inspired by visual hallucinations that Kusama experienced since she was a child. Not only does the picture dazzle the viewers’ vision, it also embodies the artist’s complicated emotions while she laboriously executed this painting. Yayoi Kusama primarily used a palette of black, white, and grey to create minimalistic Infinity Net paintings between 1950s and 1960s. The works that follow were mostly painted using various colours. Paintings in white were rarely seen in the next few decades. It was not until the turn of the millennium did viewers see the return of white Infinity Net paintings with silver grey background. It is as though the artist held the sacred purity of white in such reverence that she did not revisit Infinity Net paintings in white until half a century later.
THE CONCEPT OF INFINITY
What is infinity? How can infinity be expressed? This is possibly the most intriguing yet the most unfathomable concept that humankind has developed. Infinity encompasses the characteristics of being endless, boundless, and limitless. It is a number that continues eternally and increases ceaselessly. It is a journey that keeps on progressing. Ancient Romans used the symbol ‘∞’ to represent an extremely large number. English mathematician John Wallis first introduced the use of this symbol in mathematics to represent infinity in 1656. Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi mentioned the concept of infinity in his work Tian Xia , “If from a stick a foot long you every day take the half of it, even over many ages it will not be exhausted.”
In the field of visual arts, Yayoi Kusama responds to the concept of infinity brilliantly with the paintbrush. She was able to transform infinity from an abstract concept into tangible objects through her paintings. These works address one of the greatest questions in human history. She declared in an interview, “The nets that I paint not only transcend me, they transcend the canvas. These nets continue to spread to the walls, and the ceiling. Ultimately, they cover the entire universe.” As demonstrated in the work offered in this auction, every brushstroke commands the dots to spread in all directions. Although the dots are restricted by the physical size of the canvas, viewers can imagine that the sinuous white lines continue to spread organically towards an abstract space. As if to engulf everything around it, this painting will not be stopped until the entire universe is one with the Infinity Net.
A SEMINAL FIGURE IN THE ART WORLD
Yayoi Kusama's contribution to the development of the post-war art scene cannot be overstated. The Infinity Net series participated in many emerging art movements at the time, and it ushered in Pop Art and Minimalism. Yayoi Kusama considered Andy Warhol a close friend, and she said in jest that Warhol’s late-career output was inspired by her 1963 installation One Thousand Boats Show. When viewing the present painting, audiences are lured into its net by the repeated circular brushstrokes. This use of lines is reminiscent of Post-Impressionist master Van Gogh’s brushwork. If we were to adjust his work into a monochrome palette, it would become apparent that although seemingly different, Kusama’s net strangely resembles Van Gogh’s. This treatment compels the viewers to resonate with the artists’ tumultuous emotions. The reduced palette of this particular Infinity Net painting is akin to Robert Ryman’s minimalist work. Ryman was experimenting with the many possibilities of the painting medium expressed on textured surfaces, while Kusama was discovering her desire to express herself despite engaging in “self-obliteration” — the former is relatively rational, while the latter is much more emotional. Although Kusama is often associated with many important avant-garde artists, she has never declared her allegiance to any particular art movement. She only declares her style as ‘Kusama Art’.
When Kusama debuted Infinity Net at her first solo exhibition in 1959 at Brata Gallery, minimalist pioneer Donald Judd recognised the significance of these work. He became the first collector of Kusama’s works from this exhibition. Her touring retrospective exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Obsessions was the most visited exhibition in the world in 2015. Whenever museums show her Infinity Mirrors installation work, it always attracts millions of visitors.
Amongst the many fantastically coloured works that Kusama made over the course of her prolific creative career, white Infinity Nets can be considered the most archetypal work, representing the very core of her artistic practice. This also explains why the highest auction record to date is a white Infinity Net painted in 1960. The painting offered in this auction can be considered a continuation of this early piece. It is Kusama’s reinterpretation of her own groundbreaking work, which also encapsulates the original vision of this piece. When asked about her outlook on life, Kusama said, “My life is only a single dot that is lost amongst thousands of other dots”. To Kusama, every dot is a life unto itself. Even though each individual is as tiny as a grain of sand in this massive universe, each dot and each line is unique and irreplaceable.