I’m a fan of Yayoi Kusama’s psychedelic eccentricity and gaily polka-dotted work. The Japanese artist is 87 today, and for the past 20 years has been living in a Tokyo mental hospital, from where she has continued to produce artworks in a variety of mediums, as well as launching a literary career by publishing several novels, a poetry collection and an autobiography.
She famously said: “My art originates from hallucinations only I can see.”
In the sixties, Yayoi Kusama was part of the New York avant-garde scene, having her works exhibited alongside the likes of Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and George Segal.
In her honor, Artnet News has published a lovely article entitled:
14 Yayoi Kusama Quotes on Her 87th Birthday (Article by Alyssa Buffenstein)
You can find it here. (I borrowed the photographs from them, many thanks.)
Letters from Athens 
Fascinating !!!!
Sorry to say that I had never heard of Ms Kusama until today….. what an ignoramus..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know many people haven’t, so I thought it might be a good idea to show her stuff
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow have never heard of her but this art is amazing!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This artist is new to me. What color. I especially like the middle piece. 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
She also makes some lovely spotty pumpkins!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for introducing her. Her work is so different.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Amazing work this is and so true to her own saying, as you have mentioned in the beginning.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m not familiar with her but I love her artistic style. Thanks for introducing her!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Her art is amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Kusama too…when I found out she carried around a box of faces she had cut out of magazines, I was hooked! Very interesting life. Thanks for the link to the quotes too. (K)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, I think she’s special. And what an unusual life…
LikeLike
Nice tribute! What beautiful colors!! By the way, I found your blog via Janice’s party.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Michelle! Thanks for dropping by. I’ll reciprocate as soon as I have a minute.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing, I’ve never heard of her before, and I particularly like the first one – so colourful.
LikeLike
Like so many other commenters before me, I never heard of her up to now, but I agree her art is fascinating! Many thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Striking pieces.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Marina,
Thanks for inviting me to check out your post. The red and white photo is amazingly cool!
Janice
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, i’ve admired Yayoi Kusama’s artwork before, but i had NO idea she lived in a mental hospital. I never knew that much about her; i figured she was just a delightfully eccentric older lady who didn’t let age get in the way of her amazing creativity. Now you’ve got me wanting to know more about her. I see one of the other commenters mentions that the artist carries a box of cutout faces from magazines with her. My curiosity is piqued! Thankyou.
LikeLiked by 1 person
She’s fascinating, isn’t she? I didn’t know that about her before, either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
She really is. It made me sad to read about her abusive mother 😦 I have a newfound respect and interest in Ms Kusama and her work now. Thankyou for posting about her. (And thankyou for kindly having a little look at my silly blog! I’m always conscious that people might feel pressured to do that when i make random comments on people’s interesting posts! But i’m very grateful for people taking time out of their day to do so . Hope you have a lovely day 🙂 )
LikeLike
Thank you, Jack!
LikeLike