"Fruit Basket (2)" (1999) is an stunning and dynamic silkscreen and lamé print in colors by arguably the most famous Avant-Garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), best known for her works featuring repeating motifs and psychedelic imagery that evoke themes of psychology, feminism, obsession, sex, creation, and intense self-reflection. Here three of her most iconic forms appear: the 'infinity net' pattern of the background, fruit, and polka-dots that adorn both the fruits and the basket they are contained in. This work is from an edition of 60, measuring 23.23 x 27.56 inches (59 x 70 cm), is custom and archivally framed to larger dimensions in a beautiful white frame, and is in excellent condition (see images).
Kusama was born in Matsumoto City, Japan and began painting at the age of ten, as a means of escaping a childhood of neglect and expressing her early experiences with hallucinogenic visions. These apparitions consisted of dots and patterns enveloping her surroundings, suggesting issues of mental illness which have continued to strongly influence her work. For her oeuvre, Kusama has received numerous awards and honors, including the 1996 International Art Critic Association Prize, the 2000 Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize & Foreign Minister’s Commendations, and the 2003 Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Her work has been widely exhibited in major museums and galleries throughout the world, and has recently been the subject of solo shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2012); Opera Gallery, Hong Kong, China (2012); Tate Modern, London, England (2012); the National Museum of Art Osaka, Osaka, Japan (2012); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2011); Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (2011); and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain (2011). Selected Public Collections:
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea