Yayoi Kusama: de Nederlandse jaren, 1965-1970

Abstract

Ayoi Kusama (Matsumoto, 1929) has become one of the best-known and most beloved artists in the world in recent decades. Many know her 'polka dots', pumpkin artwork and 'infinity rooms'. It is less known that she laid the foundation for her groundbreaking artistic oeuvre in the Netherlands of the wild 1960s. Between 1965 and 1970, Kusama lived and worked for several periods in the Netherlands, where her phallic artworks and her happenings caused a sensation. The political turmoil, the sexual revolution and the hippie culture in the Netherlands fueled Kusama's work at that time. Conversely, her art, with the happenings in which she painted naked people - including Jan Schoonhoven - with 'polka dots', gave a boost to the Dutch art world. During her Dutch years, Kusama developed a unique visual language and, as a feminist pioneer, paved her way in new art forms such as happenings and installations.