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It’s difficult to believe, but of the 100 artists on 2017’s top sellers list, just 13 were women, according to BBC News research based on MutualArt’s data.

In a telling coincidence, the top ranked female artist was ranked 13th on the list. Who is she? The polka dot princess, Yayoi Kusama – a Japanese artist who won the world over with her pop art.

Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at Helsinki Art Museum, October 2016

Kusama was born in 1929 in Japan and made a name for herself in New York’s avant-garde art scene in the 1950s. Her works are easily identified by the polka dots which mark not only her unique style and artistic preferences, but are also a tip of the hat to the mental illness that has both plagued her and formed the foundation for her creativity.

As a child, her family strongly discouraged her from painting. At the age of 10, she experienced visual and aural hallucinations. The effect of these hallucinations was profound and has manifested itself in the artists desire to explore the concept of infinity within her art. Her dazzling infinity room installations have been showcased around the globe and have sparked heated debates about art selfies. A recent exhibition of her works at The Broad in L.A., which included two of her infinity rooms, sold out in one hour.

The artist has voluntarily lived in a hospital for the mentally ill since the 1970s. Her creativity has not been hindered by her living arrangement, however. She has added fiction and poetry to her repertoire and has continued to paint and produce sculptures.

Yayoi Kusama’s Visions of Polka Dot’s Infinity, picture by unknown

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors, image taken by Pablo Trincado

Commercial success has accompanied Kusama since 1970s. In 2017, her top selling works at auction were “Untitled, 1972”, which sold for approximately $5.4 million USD, and “Lake Michigan, 1960”, which sold for $5.3 million USD. She has also achieved considerable success already in 2018 with three pieces having been sold for in excess of $7 million each. The infinitely popular infinity rooms that we mentioned above fetch a little less per installation. Her “Infinity Mirrored Room — All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins”, which is being displayed around the world as part of the Infinity Mirrors exhibition, is valued at just shy of $1 million.

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It’s difficult to believe, but of the 100 artists on 2017’s top sellers list, just 13 were women, according to BBC News research based on MutualArt’s data. In a telling coincidence, the top ranked female artist was ranked 13th on the list. Who is she? The polka dot princess, Yayoi Kusama – a Japanese artist who won the world over with her pop art.

Find out more about this inspirational artist in today’s blog: XXX

 

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It’s difficult to believe, but of the 100 artists on 2017’s top sellers list, just 13 were women, according to BBC News research based on MutualArt’s data. In a telling coincidence, the top ranked female artist was ranked 13th on the list. Who is she? The polka dot princess @yayoikusamas, a Japanese artist who won the world over with her pop art.

Find out more about this inspirational artist in today’s blog (link in bio)

#yayoikusama #artdomains #iamart

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It’s difficult to believe, but of the 100 artists on 2017’s top sellers list, just 13 were women, according to BBC News research based on MutualArt’s data. In a telling coincidence, the top ranked female artist was ranked 13th on the list. Who is she? (link)

#artdomains #iamart