Yayoi Kusama // Pumpkin, 1981 (acrylic on canvas)

  • Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin, 1981. Acrylic on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cm. Signed, dated, and inscribed. An intimate canvas reflecting Kusama’s iconic pumpkin motif and her obsessive, rhythmic style.
    Pumpkin, 1981
    Acrylic 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 1981, this Pumpkin demonstrates Kusama’s deepening commitment to one of her most enduring motifs. The pumpkin, which first appeared in her art in the late 1940s, had become a personal emblem, an object she associated with comfort, organic vitality, and humorous form. Here, rendered in acrylic on canvas, the work captures the rhythmic surface patterning and bold structure that would make the pumpkin one of Kusama’s most recognisable and celebrated symbols.
     
    By the early 1980s, Kusama had returned to Japan and was working with renewed focus on themes that bridged her avant-garde reputation with a more personal, introspective vision. The pumpkins of this decade not only highlight her obsessive approach to repetition but also reflect her ability to transform ordinary forms into powerful symbols of resilience and identity.

  • “I love pumpkins because of their humorous form, warm feeling, and a human-like quality.”

     – Yayoi Kusama

    This work stands as part of the trajectory that elevated pumpkins from a personal motif to a defining symbol of Kusama’s global legacy. Smaller canvases like this 1981 example mark the point where the subject shifted from intimate explorations of memory and form into a recurring icon across her practice. Over time, the pumpkin would grow beyond the canvas into large-scale sculptures, mirrored installations, and immersive environments, becoming a signature image recognised worldwide. These works embody both Kusama’s obsessive vision and her ability to transform humble objects into universal symbols of resilience, humour, and human connection.