Yayoi Kusama // The Configuration of Desire, 1954

  • Yayoi Kusama, The Configuration of Desire, 1954. Gouache and ink on paper laid down on paperboard, 51.4 × 45.7 cm. Signed, titled, and dated.
    The Configuration of Desire, 1954
    Gouache and ink on paper laid down on paperboard, 51.4 × 45.7 cm (20 1⁄4 × 18 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only.
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    This work on paper by Yayoi Kusama, executed in gouache and ink on paperboard, reflects the artist’s growing confidence with mixed media during her mid-twenties. At 25 years old, she was exploring how different materials could interact to produce contrasting visual effects, using ink to define precise linear elements alongside gouache to introduce softer areas of colour and tonal variation. This approach reveals her interest in balancing control with spontaneity, a tension that became a hallmark of her later practice.

     

    The title signals a shift toward psychological and emotional subject matter, indicating how Kusama was beginning to merge internal narratives with formal experimentation. This fusion of personal vision and technical innovation marks a key stage in the evolution of her distinctive visual language during the 1950s.

  • “Without obsession, life is nothing. Obsession is the wellspring of my art.”

    – Yayoi Kusama

    The work measures 51.4 × 45.7 cm and is signed and dated multiple times, both on the sheet and on the backing board. This attention to documentation reflects Kusama’s habit of reinforcing authorship in her early years. The composition relies on layered washes of gouache offset by precise ink lines, producing a surface that balances fluidity with control. The abstract quality of the image connects to her growing interest in repetition, structure, and the translation of interior visions into external form.
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