5 Things You May Not Know About: Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama is a visionary Japanese artist born in 1929. She has transcended conventional artistic boundaries with her avant-garde creations. Renowned for her immersive installations, vibrant paintings, and iconic polka dots, Kusama has become a global art sensation.

She has lived in a mental health hospital since 1977

Since 1977, Yayoi Kusama has chosen to reside in a Japanese mental health facility, seeking treatment for her mental health challenges. Despite her full-time stay in a Tokyo hospital, she remains a prolific artist, maintaining a nearby studio where she passionately engages in creating paintings, sculptures, and large-scale installations.

Discussing her mental health journey, Kusama expressed, "I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieves my illness is to keep creating art. I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live.”

Pumpkins were a staple in her diet during WWII

During the Second World War, pumpkins played a significant role in Kusama's life. The vegetable became a central motif in her artistic expression, with the Kusama family relying on pumpkins grown at their home to endure wartime challenges. Over the years, Kusama has depicted pumpkins in paintings, sculptures, and immersive installations, emphasizing the vegetable's charm and spiritual balance.

Her business advisor was fellow artist Georgia O'Keefe

In her pursuit of success in the New York art scene, Kusama sought guidance from fellow artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who later became her business advisor. O'Keeffe's support extended to recommending Kusama's works to art dealers when the latter faced financial difficulties during a period of exhaustion and hospitalization.

She had a troubled upbringing

Kusama's upbringing was marked by a troubled relationship with her mother, whose discouragement of her artistic pursuits led the artist to rush through drawings as a means of escape. Enduring both physical and emotional abuse, Kusama faced childhood trauma compounded by her father's extramarital affairs. Despite her artistic exploration of sex, she developed a lifelong aversion to it, describing herself as asexual due to early exposure and subsequent fear of sex.

The polka dots were inspired by childhood hallucinations

The iconic polka dots that define Kusama's work originated from a childhood hallucination. Enthralled by red flower patterns on a tablecloth, she experienced a surreal vision where the same pattern enveloped the entire room, her body, and the universe. This profound experience laid the foundation for her distinctive and widely recognized artistic style.