Lot 101
  • 101

Yayoi Kusama

Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
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Description

  • Yayoi Kusama
  • My Hart (B)
  • signed, titled and dated 1953 on the reverse
  • pastel, gouache and ink on paper
  • 13 by 11 1/2 in. 33 by 29.2 cm.

Provenance

Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1996

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. The lateral edges are slightly deckled and there is a slight undulation to the sheet, inherent to the artist's working method. There is an artist's pinhole along the top edge and the lower right corner has been irregularly torn by the artist. Under raking light, very minor light surface abrasions are visible. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat at the top two corners and at the lower right corner. Framed under Plexiglas. Please note that this work is accompanied by a registration card issued by the Yayoi Kusama Studio.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Grady Turner: In 1951, you began to produce small works on paper in pastel, gouache, and ink, based on your hallucinations. Within a few years, you had created thousands of them. Then, furious with your mother, you destroyed most of them...How did this come about?

Yayoi Kusama: When I left for New York, my mother gave me one million yen and told me never to set foot in her house again. I destroyed several thousand pieces of work...Now I regret very much that I destroyed them...The pieces that I saved were all completed ones, similar to those I had sent to Kenneth [Callahan] and Georgia O’Keeffe...she was very supportive of me...Those pieces I saved were excellent pieces that already showed some signs of dots and infinity nets.

Grady Turner: Though small in size, these early works were vast in scale, as if you were attempting to capture the infinite.

Yayoi Kusama: Those small works reflect the great depth of my inner heart.

Yayoi Kusama in conversation with Grady Turner, Bomb Magazine, Winter 1999