S otheby’s Salon presents a major exhibition tracing Yayoi Kusama's legendary career over seven decades. Explore an extensive selection of canvases, works on paper, and screenprints spanning the 1950s to the 2010s. Follow her artistic journey from early abstract landscapes and 1970s fashion motifs to playful 1990s pumpkins and her iconic, mesmerising Infinity Nets.
Organised into three themes—Nature and Nurture, Fauna and Flora, and The Urban and Pop—this exhibition charts Kusama’s profound transformation, taking her from her native land across the Pacific and ultimately back to her roots.
19 June - 20 August 2026
Monday–Saturday | 11:00AM–7:00PM
Sunday & Public Holiday | 11:00AM–6:00PM
Sotheby's Maison, Hong Kong
Landmark Chater, 8 Connaught Road Central, Central
Enquiries:
Nick Buckley Wood | Private Sales Director, Asia
nick.wood@sothebys.com
CC Xichu Wang | Maison Director, Global Fine Art
cc.wang@sothebys.com
Fusako Oshima | Specialist, Private Sales, Asia
fusako.oshima@sothebys.com
S
otheby's Salon presents a major exhibition celebrating the remarkable seven-decade career of Yayoi Kusama, tracing the evolution of one of the most influential artistic voices of the modern era. Through a carefully curated selection of paintings, works on paper, and screenprints spanning the 1950s to the 2010s, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the breadth and depth of Kusama's creative journey.
Organised into three thematic sections—Nature and Nurture, Fauna and Flora, and The Urban and Pop—the exhibition follows Kusama's artistic development from her formative years in Japan, through her groundbreaking period in the United States, and ultimately back to her homeland, where she cemented her status as a global cultural icon.
Among the earliest highlights is The Pacific Ocean No. A.B.X. (1959), an exceptional work on paper executed shortly after Kusama's arrival in New York. Combining ink, pastel, and gouache, the work captures the spirit of transition and ambition that defined this pivotal moment in her career, reflecting both her physical journey across the Pacific and her search for new artistic horizons.
The exhibition then explores Kusama's fascination with the natural world and the recurring motifs that populate her visual universe. In Sunset Grapes (1988), a rare canvas work, organic forms are transformed into vibrant patterns of colour and repetition, demonstrating the artist's unique ability to blur the boundaries between abstraction and representation. The painting exemplifies Kusama's enduring engagement with nature as both a source of inspiration and a vehicle for psychological expression.
A further highlight is the rarely seen Handbag (1984), an outstanding example from a period when Kusama increasingly engaged with themes of consumer culture, fashion, and everyday objects. Elevating an ordinary accessory into an iconic image, the painting showcases her playful approach to popular culture while anticipating many of the motifs that would come to define her later work.
Together with celebrated examples of her Infinity Nets, pumpkins, floral imagery, and other signature subjects, these works reveal the extraordinary consistency and inventiveness of Kusama's vision. More than a survey of artistic achievement, the exhibition charts a lifelong exploration of memory, identity, nature, and contemporary life, inviting visitors to experience the evolution of an artist whose work continues to captivate audiences around the world.
