Yayoi Kusama // Autumn Rain, 1978

  • Yayoi Kusama, Autumn Rain, 1978. Enamel and ink on paperboard, 24.1 × 27.3 cm. Signed and dated. An intimate post-New York work reflecting her shift to introspective practice in Japan.
    Autumn Rain, 1978
    Enamel and ink on paperboard, 24.1 × 27.3 cm (9 1⁄2 × 10 3⁄4 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only. 

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    Painted in 1978, Autumn Rain belongs to Yayoi Kusama’s productive post-New York years, a period defined by a more personal and introspective studio practice. Having returned to Japan, Kusama shifted her attention toward exploring new materials and techniques within more contained formats

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    The combination of enamel and ink on paperboard reflects her continued interest in texture and surface, merging fluid, luminous qualities with the crisp precision of line. This interplay between control and spontaneity characterises many of her works from the late 1970s, highlighting a period of experimentation and refinement within her evolving artistic language.

  • “In the cosmos, there is no end and no beginning. Infinity is what I pursue through art.”

     – Yayoi Kusama

    This period marked a shift toward works that conveyed psychological intensity on a smaller, more intimate scale, echoing the motifs of repetition, accumulation, and organic rhythm that had defined her earlier practice. In pieces like Autumn Rain, Kusama captured both the delicacy and persistence of natural and psychological cycles, themes that would remain central to her art in the decades that followed.