Yayoi Kusama - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong Thursday, March 30, 2023 | Phillips

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  • I love pumpkins… because of their humorous form, warm feeling, and a human-like quality and form. My desire to create works of pumpkins still continues. I have enthusiasm as if I were still a child.”
    — Yayoi Kusama

     

     Yayoi Kusama reading her poem, On Pumpkins (2010)

    Video Courtesy of Victoria Miro

     

    “While all artists are not chess players,
    all chess players are artists.”
    — Marcel Duchamp

     

    Another example of the small edition of only 7 plus 4 artist's proofs is held in the permanent collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Gift of the Getty Trust
    Artwork: © YAYOI KUSAMA
    • Provenance

      RS&A Ltd, London
      Private Collection, Korea
      Phillips de Pury, New York, 16 November 2012, lot 152
      Private Collection
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

    • Exhibited

      St. Lucia, Bendigo Art Gallery; University of Queensland Art Museum; London, Saatchi Gallery, The Art of Chess, 30 October 2010 - 3 October 2012 (another example exhibited)

    • Artist Biography

      Yayoi Kusama

      Japanese

      Named "the world's most popular artist" in 2015, it's not hard to see why Yayoi Kusama continues to dazzle contemporary art audiences globally. From her signature polka dots—"fabulous," she calls them—to her mirror-and-light Infinity Rooms, Kusama's multi-dimensional practice of making art elevates the experience of immersion. To neatly pin an artistic movement onto Kusama would be for naught: She melds and transcends the aesthetics and theories of many late twentieth century movements, including Pop Art and Minimalism, without ever taking a singular path.

       

      As an nonagenarian who still lives in Tokyo and steadfastly paints in her studio every day, Kusama honed her punchy cosmic style in New York City in the 1960s. During this period, she staged avant-garde happenings, which eventually thrust her onto the international stage with a series of groundbreaking exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in the 1980s and the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993. She continues to churn out paintings and installations at inspiring speed, exhibiting internationally in nearly every corner of the globe, and maintains a commanding presence on the primary market and at auction.

       
      View More Works

138

Pumpkin Chess Set

signed 'Yayoi Kusama' and stamped by the German Porcelain factory Villeroy & Boch on the underside of each chess piece
hand painted porcelain, leather and wood display
overall 80 x 120 x 120 cm. (31 1/2 x 47 1/4 x 47 1/4 in.)
Executed in 2003, this work is number 5 from an edition of 7 plus 4 artist's proofs, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist and issued by RS&A Ltd.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$2,200,000 - 3,200,000 
€255,000-371,000
$282,000-410,000

Sold for HK$3,048,000

Contact Specialist

Danielle So
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+852 2318 2027
danielleso@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 31 March 2023