The infinite appeal of Yayoi Kusama

In November 1968, a few months shy of her 40th birthday, the artist Yayoi Kusama sent an open letter to the then President-elect of the United States, Richard Nixon. “I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I’ve found that relieves my illness is to keep creating art,” she wrote in her autobiography, Infinity Net, in 2011. open image in gallery ‘You, Me and the Balloons’ by Yayoi Kusama at Aviva Studios, Manchester To fully understand Kusama’s place in contemporary culture, though, one needs to look back at her early life and career. open image in gallery ‘Infinity Nets ’ by Yayoi Kusama is handled by attendants at Sotheby’s auction house in 2021 Kusama was now showing work alongside Andy Warhol, being championed by Georgia O’Keeffe, and dating Donald Judd – not a bad trio of artistic associates. Kusama’s eye-catching art – the Infinity Mirror Rooms, in particular – provides the perfect backdrop for a selfie, with its mix of gleaming lights and patterns of vibrant colour. open image in gallery Infinity Mirrored Room – A Wish for Human Happiness Calling from Beyond the Universe There remain several questions and paradoxes about Kusama’s career.