Yayoi Kusama // Untitled, C.A. 1960

  • Yayoi Kusama, Untitled, circa 1960. Oil on canvas, 102 × 142.2 cm. Abstract composition with layered marks and dense surface texture.
    Untitled, 1960
    Oil on canvas, 102 × 142.2 cm (40 1/8 × 56 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only.

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    Painted around 1960, this Untitled oil on canvas marks Yayoi Kusama’s transition from her early works on paper to larger, more ambitious compositions. Measuring 102 × 142.2 cm, the canvas reflects her growing interest in scale and the development of the dense, textured surfaces that would soon define her celebrated Infinity Net paintings.
     
    Created during her time in New York, this work belongs to a pivotal period when Kusama was beginning to establish herself on the international stage. Her move to the city exposed her to new artistic networks and movements, influencing both the scale and complexity of her practice.

  • "I have pursued art to fight despair, to fight loneliness. My art originates from my psychological struggles.”

    – Yayoi Kusama


    The painting’s expansive surface allows for a field of repeated gestures built up in oil, creating rhythm and texture across the canvas. The composition leans toward abstraction, with layers of mark-making that suggest both control and spontaneity. The larger format marked a significant step from her smaller Japanese works of the 1950s, demonstrating a confidence with scale that aligned her practice with contemporary developments in Abstract Expressionism while retaining her distinctive approach to repetition.