Yayoi Kusama is a famous Japanese artist and writer known for her repeating dot patterns. In 2008, Christie’s sold one of her works for $5.1 million – a record for a living female artist. Her work is the subject of a current exhibition in London at Tate Modern. The show runs through June 5, 2012.
Kusama uses a wide variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, and performance art.
In 1959, as a young struggling artist in New York, Kusama produced her Net paintings. These huge canvases with memorizing patterns were an instant hit and helped launch her art career.
Kusama’s work is in the collections of leading museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Tate Modern, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Asked about Damien Hirst, who also uses dots in some of his works, Kusama said: “I have made it into a symbol of love and peace…I love Damien Hirst, I respect his work a great deal and I am very happy that the polka dots that I started using have become a symbol of love and peace around the world with everyone joining hands to use them together in this way.”
Tate Modern Exhibition Hours:
Sunday to Thursday, 10am – 6 pm. Friday and Saturday, 10am –10 pm.
