Lot  222 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2020 Taipei

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2020 Taipei

Flowers - That Bloom at Midnight

Yayoi KUSAMA (Japanese, 1929)

2009

FRP, metal, all-weather urethane Paint

228(L) x 220(W) x136(H) cm

Estimate

TWD 30,000,000-40,000,000

HKD 7,979,000-10,638,000

USD 1,028,100-1,370,800

CNY 7,059,000-9,412,000

Sold Price

TWD 40,640,000

HKD 11,043,478

USD 1,425,965

CNY 9,299,771


This lot is to be sold with a registration card issued by Yayoi Kusama Studio.

+ OVERVIEW

Beyond the Canvas — Environmental Sculptor Yayoi Kusama

"The net under my brush transcends not only myself, but also the canvas itself. These nets extend to the walls and ceilings, and eventually cover the entire universe." — Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama, who is generally recognized to be one of Japan’s greatest living artists, began to create avant–garde art after moving to New York in 1957. She held joint exhibitions with leading Western artists of the day such as Yves Klein, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol, and became a prominent figure on the international art scene, playing an important role in the growth of the Pop Art movement. In 1993, Kusama became the first female Japanese artist to represent Japan at the Venice Biennale, firmly establishing her status as a major figure in the art world both in the West and in Japan.

Yayoi Kusama set out to create sculptures in the late 1990s and positioned herself as a sculptor more than a painter. In 2000, she began to create large-scale public outdoor sculptures, including “The Visionary Flowers” in Matsumoto City Art Museum, Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 2002, “Tsumari in Bloom” in Matsushiro-cho, Niigata, Japan in 2003, and “Hymn of Life: Tulips” in Beverly Hills, USA in 2007. Flowers have always been one of Kusama’s favored themes. They symbolize the flowering and withering of life, celebration and grief, hardness and softness. These fragile, organic, bountiful life– forms sprawl all over the paintings, dominating both the canvas and the fantastical world that the artist is seeking to create. In her autobiography, Yayoi Kusama noted that: “ever since she was a child, nature, the universe, humanity, blood, flowers and all sort of other things have left deep impressions – in a magical, terrifying or mysterious way – on her visual and auditory perception and on her heart. She said that they had entwined themselves around her life, never letting her escape.”

“One day, when I was a little girl, I found myself trembling, all over my body, with fear, amid flowers incarnate, which had appeared all of a sudden. I was surrounded by hundreds of violets in a flower garden. The violets, with uncanny expressions, were chatting among themselves like human beings. No sooner had they and I had spiritual dialogues than I became infatuated with them, drawn into glitter of illusion, away from this world” (Kusama Yayoi, “The Struggle and Wandering of My Soul”, 1975, in exh. cat. Yayoi Kusama, Phaidon, p. 118).

In addition to the canvas, Yayoi Kusama also engages in three dimensions creation. Through exhibiting her theme originally on canvas, the actual space that can be touched by all senses, providing an extra level of visual stimulation. “Flowers - That Bloom at Midnight” created in 2009, which multicolored releases a strong sense of vitality. This vibrant flower is one of the large scale sculptures of Kusama, with delicate texture and abundant colors. The longitudinal leaves stretch out, the blooming flower looks innocent and the stamen is replaced with a large eye, that is so infectious and powerful. Kusama creates a fascinating space and artistic conception, which sees through her dreamlike spiritual world, that in turn transforms into her most dazzling and wonderful creation.


Related Info

Modern & Contemporary Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2020 Taipei

Sunday, December 6, 2020, 2:00pm