Yayoi Kusama // Untitled, 1970 (acrylic and marker pen on canvas)

  • Untitled, 1970 Marker pen on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cm
    Untitled, 1970
    Marker pen on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cm (20 7/8 × 17 7/8 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only. 
     
    Painted in 1970, this Untitled work reflects Kusama’s continuing exploration of repetition and psychological intensity as she transitioned out of her formative New York period. By this time, she had already gained international recognition for her Infinity Nets and radical performance pieces that challenged the boundaries between art, body, and environment.
     
    The use of marker pen on canvas here demonstrates her experimentation with immediacy and line, while also foreshadowing the graphic boldness that would recur in her later drawings and paintings.

  • “I am just another dot in the world.”

     – Yayoi Kusama

    Situated at the cusp of her return to Japan in the early 1970s, this work reflects a key moment of transition. After a decade of high-profile happenings and installations in New York, Kusama began moving toward a more private and introspective practice. The smaller scale and immediacy of the marker pen highlight this shift, foreshadowing the psychologically charged works she would continue to develop upon her return to Japan.