Sea (Kusama 136) by Yayoi Kusama is a 1989 screenprint that reflects the artist’s fascination with repetition, vibrant color, and stylized natural imagery. The composition depicts an underwater scene populated by vividly patterned fish and starfish floating against a deep blue background. Each creature is covered with Kusama’s signature dots and mosaic-like patterns, transforming marine life into rhythmic decorative forms. The dense network of lines in the background evokes the texture of water or coral, reinforcing the immersive quality of the scene. Through repetition and bright contrasting colors, Kusama turns a simple ocean motif into a dynamic visual field that reflects her broader exploration of infinity, pattern, and the natural world. The screenprint measures approximately 53.5 × 61 cm (21.1 × 24 inches) and was produced in a limited edition of 100. The work is signed, titled, dated, and numbered in pencil.
Yayoi Kusama (Japan, 1929) is a pioneering artist known for her avant-garde vision, using polka dots, mirrors, and immersive installations to explore themes of infinity and self-obliteration. Her 'Infinity Rooms' and bold, colorful works have redefined contemporary art, influencing pop art and minimalism. Kusama’s art blends obsession with beauty and transcendence, making her globally celebrated.
Screen-print Screen printing is a technique where ink is transferred through a mesh onto a substrate, with areas blocked by a stencil to prevent ink from passing through. This method, also known as serigraphy or silkscreen printing, is commonly used to produce prints on posters, T-shirts, vinyl, stickers, wood, and other materials. The process is a type of stencil printing, allowing for vibrant, detailed designs on various surfaces.
Sea (Kusama 136) by Yayoi Kusama is a 1989 screenprint that reflects the artist’s fascination with repetition, vibrant color, and stylized natural imagery. The composition depicts an underwater scene populated by vividly patterned fish and starfish floating against a deep blue background. Each creature is covered with Kusama’s signature dots and mosaic-like patterns, transforming marine life into rhythmic decorative forms. The dense network of lines in the background evokes the texture of water or coral, reinforcing the immersive quality of the scene. Through repetition and bright contrasting colors, Kusama turns a simple ocean motif into a dynamic visual field that reflects her broader exploration of infinity, pattern, and the natural world. The screenprint measures approximately 53.5 × 61 cm (21.1 × 24 inches) and was produced in a limited edition of 100. The work is signed, titled, dated, and numbered in pencil.
Yayoi Kusama (Japan, 1929) is a pioneering artist known for her avant-garde vision, using polka dots, mirrors, and immersive installations to explore themes of infinity and self-obliteration. Her 'Infinity Rooms' and bold, colorful works have redefined contemporary art, influencing pop art and minimalism. Kusama’s art blends obsession with beauty and transcendence, making her globally celebrated.
My life is a dot lost among thousands of other dots.
- Yayoi Kusama
Celebrated for her liberal and multi-faceted approach to creation, Yayoi Kusama is a prominent artist who works primarily across the mediums of installation and sculpture, as well as performance, poetry and painting – Kusama has a unique style with works spanning minimalism, surrealism, conceptual art and abstract expression. Among Kusama's acclaimed works is Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead, one among many highly public ‘happenings’, in which naked participants were covered in a range of brightly coloured polka-dots; these dots, as well as the theme of infinity, became signature traits of her art – Kasuma has commented on the repetitive nature of her creativity in describing herself as an ‘obsessive artist’. Kusama counts fellow artists Eva Hesse and Donald Judd as close friends and influences, and her work has also been of inspiration to Andy Warhol and the Pop Art style. (Artist website)
Pop Art is an art movement that began in Britain in 1955 and in the late 1950s in the U.S. It challenged traditional fine arts by incorporating imagery from popular culture, such as news, advertising, and comic books. Pop Art often isolates and recontextualizes materials, combining them with unrelated elements. The movement is more about the attitudes and ideas that inspired it than the specific art itself. Pop Art is seen as a reaction against the dominant ideas of Abstract Expressionism, bringing everyday consumer culture into the realm of fine art.