Born in Nagano Prefecture painting polka dots and nets as motifs along with creating beautiful water colors, pastels and oils around the age of 10; Yayoi Kusama is a natural genius when it comes to expressing her authentic artistic vision full of spacey imagination from another dimension. Ever since Kusama was young she endured a mental illness where she had hallucinations. She used her distorted reality manifested from those hallucinations to create vivid artistic experiences from an observation of nature and the advanced shapes and colors her brilliant mind conceived.
Critic Bob Nickas writes, “the paintings can be seen as representations of space, as well as images of what can easily be represented – infinity or hallucination.”
One of the most captivating aspects of Kusama is the creative mediums she selects to express her vibrant and eclectic art form as well as the numerous God-given talents and gifts she possesses despite a condition that most would consider debilitating, Kusama is a tremendous example of someone who rises above all odds. A painter, an author, a producer, a writer – a true renaissance woman who just recently celebrated her 88th birthday has truly captivated me with her raw unmitigated ability to express herself through just about anything she sets her gaze on.
One of my favorite exhibits that she has done so far is the “Infinity Mirrors”. Shown on the first floor of The Broad Museum in LA through October 2017, this experiential art installation consists of a “mirror-lined chamber housing a dazzling and seemingly endless LED light display” that although only big enough to accompany one person at a time, is sure to take your breath away.
For more information about how cool and eclectic Kusama is, be sure to check out her complete bio.
Trust me when I tell you, you will not be disappointed and will most likely fall in love with how colorful and bold this phenomenal woman truly is as you experience her abstract art through her simply representing the world she sees in her beautifully distorted visions.
Love & Light,
Cristen M. Mills
