Yayoi Kusama // Butterfly, 1982

  • Yayoi Kusama, Butterfly, 1982. Acrylic on canvas, 38 × 46 cm. Signed and dated. A late 20th-century work that transforms the butterfly motif into a meditation on fragility, transformation, and infinity.
    Butterfly, 1982
    Acrylic on canvas, 38 × 46 cm (15 × 18 1/8 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only.
    Back to Yayoi Kusama Originals page
     
    Painted in 1982, Butterfly reflects Kusama’s ongoing interest in transforming natural subjects into symbols charged with psychological depth. Executed in acrylic on canvas, the work demonstrates her meticulous surface treatment, combining repetition and rhythm with a lyrical subject that evokes both fragility and transformation.
     
    The butterfly motif resonates with Kusama’s broader themes of metamorphosis and renewal. Just as pumpkins and nets had become central emblems of her art, the butterfly offered a way to explore ideas of transience, delicacy, and the cycles of life. Created during her post-New York years in Japan, this canvas highlights her shift toward introspective, studio-based practice while maintaining the bold visual language that had secured her international reputation.

  • “Polka dots are a way to infinity.”

     – Yayoi Kusama

    Works such as Butterfly illustrate how Kusama’s personal visions could imbue even the smallest forms with symbolic significance, transforming delicate natural imagery into vehicles for her recurring themes of infinity and obsession. The butterfly, traditionally a symbol of fragility and metamorphosis, became for Kusama another surface on which to project her inner world. Through bold colour, repetitive pattern, and rhythmic composition, she elevated the motif beyond mere representation, turning it into a meditation on change, resilience, and the endless cycles of life. In this way, the work not only reflects Kusama’s personal psychology but also connects with universal ideas of transformation and continuity.