Yayoi Kusama // Polka Dots

  • Yayoi Kusama exhibition with pink tentacle sculptures covered in polka dots, immersive installation filling the gallery space.
    ©Lizzy Shaanan Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
    For Kusama, the polka dot is a lifelong language of infinity and self-obliteration. In her early paintings and sculptures, dots multiplied across surfaces to dissolve form and identity, reflecting her vision of the self as just one element in an endless cosmos. These repeating marks carried both playfulness and unease, turning canvases, objects, and even the body into rhythmic fields that blurred the boundary between art and life.
     
    As her practice expanded, Kusama carried the polka dot into large-scale environments and performances. From mirrored Infinity Rooms to immersive installations and happenings, dots came to cover walls, floors, clothing, and participants themselves. In these works, the simple mark becomes an all-encompassing field, inviting viewers to lose themselves in repetition and to experience the same tension between joy, obsession, and the infinite that drives Kusama’s art.
  • ©Lizzy Shaanan Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

  • "My life is a dot lost among thousands of other dots." 

     

    — Yayoi Kusama

    Kusama’s fascination with polka dots began in childhood, when she experienced vivid hallucinations in which patterns would overtake her surroundings. She recalls seeing flowers, lights, and dots multiplying endlessly until they seemed to swallow her body and dissolve her sense of self. These episodes, though unsettling, became the foundation of her artistic language. By painting and repeating the dot, she sought both to confront and to contain her visions, turning personal experience into a universal symbol.
    • Yayoi Kusama, Butterfly, contemporary artwork featuring vivid colours and patterned wings, reflecting her signature polka dot and biomorphic style.

      Butterfly, 1980

      ©Yayoi Kusama. Image repoduced for educational purposes only.
    • Yayoi Kusama, Dots (BBC), contemporary artwork exploring her iconic polka dot motif with vibrant colours and immersive patterning.

      DOTS (BBC), 2001

      ©Yayoi Kusama. Image repoduced for educational purposes only.
    • Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin (TWX), contemporary sculpture featuring her signature spotted pumpkin motif in bold colours and textured form.

      A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003

      ©Yayoi Kusama. Image repoduced for educational purposes only.
    • Yayoi Kusama, Dots Obsession, 2013–2016, immersive installation with giant balloons, mirrored surfaces and vibrant polka dot patterns.

      Dots Obsession, 2013-2016

      ©M.Ahmadani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Yayoi Kusama, Coffee Cup, contemporary ceramic piece decorated with her signature polka dot motif in bold contrasting colours.

      Coffee Cup, 1991

      ©Yayoi Kusama. Image repoduced for educational purposes only.
    • Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin sculpture, contemporary artwork with iconic spotted pumpkin form in vivid colours and bold surface texture.

      Pumpkin, 2017

      ©Ziko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Yayoi Kusama, The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, immersive installation with glowing yellow pumpkin sculptures and mirrored reflections.

      The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, 2015

      ©Ncysea, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Yayoi Kusama, Hat (A.B), contemporary wearable artwork decorated with her signature polka dot motif in bold contrasting colours.

      Hat (A.B), 2002

      ©Yayoi Kusama. Image repoduced for educational purposes only.

  • Exhibtions and Performance Art

    Exhibitions and performances that shaped Kusama’s legacy.     ©Lizzy Shaanan Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons