Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist that is well-known around the world. She has produced a variety of artworks that have been shown in many major museums around the world.

Yayoi Kusama calls herself an obsessional artist or an artist who does stereotypical repetition. Her art does not fit into one single art movement. Kusama calls herself an environmental artist as her art will encompass the entire space, including the walls, ceilings, and floors. A lot of her art is about perspective and an infinity that never ends.

Yayoi Kusama works in various mediums from paintings, art installations, sculptures, writings to film. As her artwork is so varied, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what type of artist or art movement she is part of.

Yayoi Kusama – The Artist

Yayoi Kusama calls herself an obsessional artist because she will obsessively repeat in her themes, especially objects as polka dots. It is hard to define exactly which type of artist Yayoi Kusama is because her art actually shows attributes in many art movements.

In speaking about her polka dots she said:

Here is a video of an installation with the Tate Museum in London where people put the polka dots on a completely white room. It shows the fascination she has with polka dots and the people who come to participate in the active art installations at one of the Tate Art Galleries in London.

You can see from this Tate Installation (#tateshots) that her work uses repetitions and, in particular, many polka dots. This is why another name she will use for her art is stereotypical repetition because she will repeat things again and again.

Her art is also environmental art as it will encompass a space completely from the ceilings, floors, walls, and even furniture. it is art that is not just limited to the canvas but encompasses an entire space.

In an interview with the Tate Gallery curator in London she spoke about her art and what drives her art:

There are so many variables and layers to Yayoi Kusama’s art and who she is as an artist that it is difficult to pin down exactly what kind of artist she is. She is multi-faceted and multi-talented. She has been successful in various art fields such as painting, sculptures, art insulations, performance art, film, fashion, poetry, and fiction. In some of her art she will put herself into the art as a central figure.

Many people try to define what kind of artist she is, some say she is a conceptual artist, others say that she is pop art and minimalist artist. Others say her art shows attributes of feminism, surrealism, art brut, and abstract expressionism. Even the art critics and curators cannot fully agree on what type of artist Yayoi Kusama is.

Yayoi Kusama’s Art and Mental Health

One reason it is so hard to know what kind of artist Yayoi Kusama is, because her work is infused with attributes of autobiographical, psychological, and sexual content. She has always been very open about the fact that she suffers from mental health.

In Japan, she lives in a mental health facility during the nighttime, but during the day, she goes to her studio to work on her art. Kusama is very disciplined in working in her studio every day. But she has also said that her art is a way for her to deal with and express her mental health issues.

At age 10, Yayoi Kusama started to experience hallucinations; many hallucinations involved fields of dots or polka dots that she would see on people and everywhere. She would also see endless fields of flowers, stars, nets, dots, or other themes; all of this has lead to her obsession to repeat these objects again and again in her art.

Yayoi Kusama said this about her art:

For a long time, Yayoi Kusama was controversial in Japan; many in Japan were unsure if an artist who lives in a Psychiatric hospital should be promoted to represent Japanese art. Yayoi Kusama is very open about her mental health problems. Even today, she still lives in a Psychiatric Hospital and is under the care of mental health professionals; Yayoi Kusama walks 2 blocks every day from the hospital to her art studio to work.

Yayoi Kusama’s – An important Japanese Artist.

Yayoi Kusama had little formal training, but she is acknowledged as one of the most important Japanese artists. She has had her artwork viewed and shown around the world.

When Yoyoi was younger, she was influenced by Abstract Expressionism. When she moved to New York City in 1958, she became part of the New York avant-garde scene and the pop art movement.

In fact, during her time in New York City, she became a central artistic figure in the New York avant-garde movement. Her work was exhibited alongside other famous artists as Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, and also Claes Oldenburg.

She fully embraced the rise of the 1960s hippie counterculture. In embracing this 1960s counter culture, she famously organized art happenings with naked participants painted with brightly colored polka dots. She was also active with happenings at anti-war demonstrations and fashion shows. It was not uncommon for her to be arrested for any of these activities or art happenings.

In the United States, she had many large multi-media-related activities such as film production and newspaper publication. She also had many exhibitions and stage happenings in various countries throughout Europe.

Her film “Self-obliteration” won quite a few different prizes and awards. This film showed she had the ability to not just act and star in a film but also to produce one.

In 1973 she returned to Japan; at this time, her mental health issues also increased as she had a mental breakdown while in America. She came back to Japan as a very controversial figure as many of her art happenings and demonstrations in American reach the Japanese press. This meant that she needed to start over again in Japan.

Kusama did not allow this to stop her and she continued to produce art work. She also started writing; in 1983 the novel The Hustlers Grotto of Christopher Street won the Ted literary award for new writers from the monthly magazine Yasel Jidai

Kusama showed us that as an artist, she would not just paint or sculpt, but she was also ready to explore other art areas such as media, film, and writing. This shows how multifaceted and talented she was.

Not only did she write poetry and a novel but she won awards for her writing. Not only was she able to produce a film but she was also able to win some film competitions. This shows she was an artist that was able to profoundly touch many aspects of artistic expression.

Kusama Infinity – The Documentary

Yayoi Kusama’s blog would be incomplete without mentioning a documentary about her struggles, art, and life called Kusama – Infinity. This is a fabulous documentary that goes through her life and many of her struggles—both personally and professionally. You can buy the documentary on DVD or rent or buy it on Amazon Prime. Please find out more about how to watch it by clicking here.

Yayoi Kusama is truly a pioneer in art who was not afraid to push boundaries. She is a creative genius. She is also the most successful living female artist.

One thing that comes out in this documentary is just how incredible Yayoi Kusama is and how determined she was to follow her dream to become an artist no matter what the cost. While in Japan she wrote to some famous American artists like Georgia O’Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe took the time to write back to her and to mentor and help her.

It was Georgia O’Keeffe that encouraged her to come to the United States. Despite the odds and hardships to get to America from Japan in 1958, she made the journey to New York City. She also met her mentor Georgia O’Keeffe in New York.

One thing that became very clear even from the very beginning was that Kusama was her own woman and her own artist; her work is original in every way. She was extremely bold and not afraid to speak her mind and to stand up for her work.

I find her story to be one of inspiration and determination. For me, the lesson to her story is that every artist should follow their dreams, their style and develop their own art. That every artist should stay true to who they are and their art as Yayoi Kusama did.

Major Exhibitions, Artwork and Art Installations

When you look at the timeline of her artwork, you see there is hardly any place in the world that her artwork has not touched by. Here is a year-by-year account of some of her major art happenings, artwork, art installations, and awards. This list is not complete as there are many more, but these are some of the major ones that she lists on her own website that you can visit by clicking here.

Yayoi Kusama is so popular that her work continues to draw huge crowds around the world. New York City is showing her work at the New York Botanical Gardens. If you are in New York City, you can see this amazing artist and her work.

One of the reasons why it is so difficult to pin down exactly what type of artist Yayoi Kusama is because her artwork and artwork are also varied. She is an artistic genius. This makes her unique and difficult to answer what type of artist she is; Kusama follows her own heart, so her art is so unique and interesting.

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