Yayoi Kusama — Three Pumpkins (1993)

Yayoi Kusama (Matsumoto, 1929) is one of the most influential figures of contemporary art. In New York from 1958, central to the Pop and Minimalist seasons, she built a visual language recognizable worldwide — from the Infinity Mirror Rooms to the collaborations with Louis Vuitton — with works in the permanent collections of MoMA, Tate Modern and the National Gallery of Singapore, and the Praemium Imperiale in 2006.

The pumpkin has accompanied her since childhood and is her most collected motif: an emblem of rootedness, humour and vitality. In this screenprint of 1993 three stylized pumpkins occupy the composition, modelled by the unmistakable net of polka dots; the incandescent yellow stands against a black ground crossed by a golden web, a dialogue between order and infinity that is the heart of her poetics.

Signed in pencil, dated and titled in Japanese, the print is numbered from an edition of 160 and printed on wove paper, framed. Condition is excellent: UV analysis reveals no restoration or retouching, the support is intact and the patina consistent with period and materials. Provenance: Mainichi Auction, Tokyo, July 2025.