Yayoi Kusama // Accreations I, 1967

  • Yayoi Kusama, Accreations I, 1967. Oil on canvas, 80 × 70.5 cm. Repetitive brushstrokes forming a dense surface, signed, titled, and dated on the stretcher.
    Accreations I, 1967
    Oil on canvas, 80 × 70.5 cm (31 ½ × 27 7/8 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only.

    Accreations I was painted in 1967, when Yayoi Kusama was living in New York and pushing the Infinity Net technique that had established her reputation. Executed in oil on canvas and measuring 80 × 70.5 cm, the work is signed, titled, and dated on the stretcher.
     
    The title itself, derived from the idea of “accretion,” or gradual accumulation, reflects Kusama’s sustained interest in repetition, layering, and the building up of surfaces through countless small gestures. This emphasis on growth and accumulation connects the painting to her wider practice of the 1960s, a decade in which she explored the same principles in sculpture, collage, and immersive installations.

  • “I want to create a flow of infinite repetition that mirrors the expansion of the universe itself.”

    – Yayoi Kusama

    The canvas is structured by repeated brushstrokes applied in oil, creating an even field across the surface. The pattern has no central focus, instead producing a continuous rhythm that suggests endless expansion. While closely connected to the Infinity Nets, the naming of Accreations I emphasises process, layering, and the act of building form through repetition. The work reflects Kusama’s late 1960s interest in extending her methods beyond painting into environments and installations, while still grounded in her disciplined approach to mark-making.