A Definitive Edition of Overwhelming Scale, Covering the Entire Career of Global Artist Yayoi Kusama! 'Yayoi Kusama 1945 to Now' Published

Image of 'Yayoi Kusama 1945 to Now'

Seigensha Co., Ltd. published 'Yayoi Kusama 1945 to Now' in late April. This book is the Japanese edition of the official catalog for the major retrospective exhibition 'Yayoi Kusama 1945 to Now,' which was held at the M+ museum in Hong Kong from 2022 to 2023 and subsequently toured.

Book Overview

Yayoi Kusama (1929–), one of the rare artists who has achieved global recognition, has built deep connections with audiences worldwide through a wide range of diverse activities throughout her 80-year career.

This book is the complete Japanese edition of the catalog for the most comprehensive exhibition held to date, 'Yayoi Kusama 1945 to Now' (M+ [Hong Kong] from 2022 to 2023, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao [Spain], and Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art [Portugal] in 2024). Starting from 1945, the end of World War II, it traces Kusama's unique journey up to the present day in an overwhelming volume of 400 pages.

The works are organized into six themes ('Infinity,' 'Accumulation,' 'The Biocosmic,' 'Radical Connectivity,' 'Death,' and 'Force of Life'), featuring over 300 illustrations, from early drawings Kusama created around age 10 to representative works like 'Infinity Nets,' and recent large-scale painting series like 'My Eternal Soul.'

Furthermore, a 'Selection of Writings' includes excerpts from a vast collection of essays, poems, statements, and novels written from her early career to the present. The book also contains a detailed chronology with many archival photographs and a discussion among world curators who have been responsible for Kusama's exhibitions, making it a rich and comprehensive content.

It reveals the astonishing body of work of avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, an indispensable presence in contemporary art.

Contents of This Book

◆ 'Six Themes' Approaching the Core of Expression

Her long-standing creative activities are categorized and introduced under six themes that symbolize her artistic identity: 'Infinity,' 'Accumulation,' 'The Biocosmic,' 'Radical Connectivity,' 'Death,' and 'Force of Life.' It delves into the underlying elements of Kusama's diverse expressive activities, including paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, and performances.

Infinity

Accumulation

The Biocosmic

Radical Connectivity

Death

Force of Life

◆ Extensive Materials

It includes a discussion record among museum directors and curators who have handled Kusama's exhibitions, such as Akira Tatehata (Director of Yayoi Kusama Museum) and Mami Kataoka (Director of Mori Art Museum), as well as museum directors and curators from the UK, China, and Hong Kong. Additionally, a detailed chronology tracing Kusama's life and work through many archival photographs and contemporary events, and a 'Selection of Writings' featuring 16 carefully chosen pieces from Kusama's vast body of writings from her early career to the present. Valuable materials are compiled, such as correspondence with American painter Georgia O'Keeffe when Kusama aimed to move to the US in her youth, statements from happenings in New York in the 1960s, statements countering the criticism of being a 'scandal maker' after her return to Japan, and an interview by Ryu Murakami.

- A chronology tracing her life through abundant archival photographs and major social events of each era.

- A record of a discussion held among museum directors and curators who have recently handled large-scale Yayoi Kusama exhibitions.

- A letter written by 26-year-old Kusama, then living in Nagano Prefecture, to American painter Georgia O'Keeffe, whose work she knew through books.

Editor Profile

Doryun Chong

Deputy Director and Chief Curator of M+ (Hong Kong), Asia's first global museum of visual culture. Appointed as the inaugural Chief Curator of M+ in 2013. Since then, he has overseen all curatorial and content-related programs and activities, including permanent collections, exhibitions, learning activities, publications, and digital content. He also led the implementation of an innovative series of exhibitions, displays, and commissions with M+'s interdisciplinary curatorial team in preparation for its grand opening in November 2021. Prior to M+, he worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Highly acclaimed exhibitions include 'Tokyo 1955-1970' (MOMA, 2012) and 'Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis' (Walker Art Center, 2008), 'House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospectives' (Walker Art Center, 2008). Keywords: