This exhibition introduces the world of prints by world-renowned avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama (1929-).
Yayoi Kusama made her international debut at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993 as a representative Japanese artist, but her active involvement in printmaking from an earlier stage of her career was a major driving force behind her current acclaim.
In 1979, Yayoi Kusama exhibited her first prints. In contrast to her other works based on themes such as death and suffering after returning from the U.S., her prints are rich in color with vivid motifs. In addition to abstract expressions of her earlier works, motifs such as pumpkins, dresses, grapes, flowers, and butterflies covered in distinct colors and composed of mesh and polka dots are distinctive in her printworks. It is no exaggeration to say that Kusama, whose creative activities are rooted in the proliferation of dots and nets, inevitably encountered printmaking, an art of reproduction.
In recent years, Kusama has produced a series of distinctive works, including the "Mt Fuji" series, using the ukiyo-e woodblock print technique, and a series of large black-and-white silkscreen prints entitled "Love Forever."
This exhibition will showcase the wonder of Yayoi Kusama's print art, including selected works from about 340 prints in the collection of the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Kusama's hometown, which holds the world's largest collection of Kusama prints, as well as works from the artist's collection.
*This is a traveling exhibition of the special exhibit "Yayoi Kusama: The World of Prints" held at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in 2022.
*The number of works on display will vary depending on the venue.
