YAYOI KUSAMA | Flower No. Q

Collection of Richard Castellane, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in November 2010

Birmingham Museum of Art, Yayoi Kusama: Early Drawings from the Collection of Richard Castellane, December 2000 - January 2001, cat. no. 3, p. 19, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is a slight undulation and light inherent to the artist's chosen medium and working method. There is minor evidence of handling and wear including light creasing to the corners and a small loss along the left edge and at the top left corner. The sheet has discolored slightly with age. Under very close inspection, there is stable hairline craquelure in the thickly impastoed red, blue, and white dots including pinpoint areas of corresponding loss. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat at all four corners. Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

“If you try to find a fixed, symbolic meaning behind Kusama’s work, an un-trauma that will explain everything, you will get lost in the field of sunflowers. The meaning of Kusama’s work is not unified and deep but centerless and diffuse like the patterns that obsess her: dots, grids, nets—ornament on ornament. Kusama’s art is, if anything, an art of surfaces. Yet it is not superficial. Full of detours and returns, her work revolves around the seduction of the surfaces, multiple layers of veilings and patterns that have their reference point in infinity. In her work, infinity is a cosmic space, a spiritual idea and a psychological abyss, and the attraction to this great nothing is both pleasurable and full of anxiety.”
Marie Laurberg, "Deep Surfaces," in Exh. Cat., Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Yayoi Kusama: In Infinity, 2015, p. 8

This work is confirmed by the Yayoi Kusama Inc. and a registration card will be issued after the auction.