Yayoi Kusama // Shanghai Pumpkin, 2010

  • Yayoi Kusama, Shanghai Pumpkin, 2010. Screenprint, 76 × 56 cm, edition of 200. Features Kusama’s iconic pumpkin motif rendered in bold colour and rhythmic dot pattern, created to mark her presence in Shanghai.
    Shanghai Pumpkin, 2010
    Screenprint, 76 × 56 cm, Edition of 200
    © Yayoi Kusama.

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    Yayoi Kusama’s Shanghai Pumpkin (2010) is a screenprint measuring 76 × 56 cm, produced in an edition of 200. The work showcases one of Kusama’s most iconic motifs, the pumpkin, here presented with bold polka dots and striking graphic clarity. Its large format amplifies the rhythm of its patterned surface, creating an image that feels both monumental and intimate.

     

    In this print, the pumpkin is reimagined as a symbol of endurance and infinity, its dotted skin radiating with a hypnotic sense of expansion. The title connects the motif to Shanghai, a city synonymous with modernity and cultural exchange, suggesting the universality of Kusama’s vision and the global resonance of her art.

     
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  • “Pumpkins bring about poetic peace in my mind.”

     — Yayoi Kusama

    As with many of her editioned works from the 2010s, Shanghai Pumpkin demonstrates Kusama’s ability to continually reinvent her signature motif for new contexts and audiences. The print reflects her unique capacity to turn a humble natural form into a timeless emblem of creativity, resilience, and boundless imagination.