Yayoi Kusama // Green Earring, 1977

  • Yayoi Kusama, Green Earring, 1977. Mixed media on paper, 65.8 × 51.5 cm. Signed and dated. A post-New York work reflecting her shift to an introspective Japanese practice in the late 1970s.
    Green Earring, 1977
    Mixed media on paper mounted on original backing board, 65.8 × 51.5 cm (25 7⁄8 × 20 1⁄4 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only.

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    Executed in 1977, Green Earring belongs to a period when Yayoi Kusama had returned to Japan and was developing a more introspective studio-based practice following her celebrated years in New York. This shift marked a significant change in her working environment and artistic focus, as she moved away from large-scale public happenings toward more personal, contemplative modes of making.

     

    The use of mixed media on paper reflects her continued fascination with surface and texture, combining immediacy with layered, tactile effects. Through works like Green Earring, Kusama extended her earlier investigations of repetition and pattern into quieter, more intimate formats that reveal the evolving psychological depth of her practice during the late 1970s.

  • "My artwork is an expression of my life, particularly of my mental illness.” 

    – Yayoi Kusama

    This work also reflects the artistic renewal of the late 1970s, when Kusama began producing paintings, works on paper, and sculptural objects that bridged her avant-garde reputation abroad with her evolving practice in Japan. Pieces such as Green Earring highlight her ability to transform intimate materials into psychologically charged compositions, foreshadowing the increasingly bold and visionary works of her later decades.