Yayoi KUSAMA
With Love from Holland
Municipal Museum Schiedam
Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970
New light on the early years of Kusama
From September 23, 2023 to February 25, 2024, the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam presents an exhibition devoted to the Dutch years of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. In the period from 1965 to 1970 she exhibited and spent a lot of time in the Netherlands and was part of the vibrant art world there. These are crucial years for the artist, who is now seen worldwide as a superstar and a feminist icon. In the Netherlands of provo, happenings and youth culture, she finds personal and artistic freedom. She makes her work outside the standard frameworks of art, in the space between the disciplines and by actively searching for new media, channels and platforms.
Facets of contemporary eroticism
At the first exhibition in which Kusama participates in the Netherlands, she shows shoes, bags, garments and panels, all covered with countless gold or silver sprayed phallus shapes. It is 1965 and The Hague gallery Orez presents the group exhibition Facets of contemporary eroticism. This exhibition marks the beginning of the impactful Dutch years of Yayoi Kusama and forms the opening of the exhibition in Schiedam. Kusama ends up in a Netherlands where the discussions about sexual liberation are just getting started.
“The sex revolution is coming now. The pill set the woman free. It is now the woman who chooses. Everyone takes everyone. That would be ideal. No, not Yayoi himself. They call me a priest in New York, so I'm out of it. Yayoi is not participating.”
Yayoi Kusama in an article in Algemeen Dagblad, November 1967
Trauma and obsessions
However, Yayoi Kusama's inspiration does not come from social discussions, but from a much more personal source. For her, an obsession with food, flowers, phalluses and sex is inextricably linked to (sexual) trauma in the past. Throughout her life, Kusama creates works that deal with the idea of 'self obliteration', or disappearing into a kind of endlessness. This is reflected in the now world-famous Infinity Nets, the large canvases full of dots, but also in objects covered with fabric phallus shapes, macaroni and flowers, of which in Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 several examples can be seen.
Yayoi Kusama is a striking appearance as a Japanese woman, short in stature and with a poor command of English and Dutch. She also struggles with fears and delusions. She is appreciated and praised, but she is also seen and treated as a curiosity by many. Kusama decides to take matters into his own hands. She no longer adapts to what is expected of her, she stands for who she is. She propagates her cultural identity, for example, by wearing kimonos during happenings or photo sessions. And she keeps reversing the roles, by asking men to undress, but also by taking control of the way she is photographed. Kusama poses self-confidently as a 'polka dot priestess' in front of the camera of Dutch photographers. She makes her strength of her self-image.
Happenings and fashion
Kusama takes the liberty of exploring new media, such as the happening, and new platforms, such as the street and the club scene, with her art. Fashion has also been embraced by her since 1968. She designs clothing that is colorful and liberating, sometimes pushing the boundaries and provoking, such as garments with holes in the genitals. She presented this fashion in unannounced fashion shows on Dam Square in Amsterdam and in the streets of The Hague, among others. She makes the clothes in an empty bank building in Scheveningen together with Willy Verstappen, the wife of photographer Harrie Verstappen.
About the exhibition
On display in Schiedam are more than 30 works of art by Yayoi Kusama, all made in the Netherlands in the period 1965 to 1970. More than half of them have never been shown to the public before. The exhibition also includes many photographs of Kusama that were made in the Netherlands. Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 shows how Kusama became part of the Dutch art world from 1965 onwards. She connects with the artists of the zero group, among others, makes friends and receives support from collectors and galleries. At the same time, as an Asian woman in a male-dominated art world, she regularly experiences barriers and opposition.
Collaboration with 0-INSTITUTE
Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch Years 1965-1970 has been compiled by the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in close collaboration with the 0-INSTITUTE, which has been researching Kusama's Dutch years for many years. More information.
Catalogue
At the exhibition Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 a catalog of the same name is published in the Netherlands. (ISBN: 9789462088054, 208 pages, paperback, 29.95 euros)
Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970
New light on the early years of Kusama
From September 23, 2023 to February 25, 2024, the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam presents an exhibition devoted to the Dutch years of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. In the period from 1965 to 1970 she exhibited and spent a lot of time in the Netherlands and was part of the vibrant art world there. These are crucial years for the artist, who is now seen worldwide as a superstar and a feminist icon. In the Netherlands of provo, happenings and youth culture, she finds personal and artistic freedom. She makes her work outside the standard frameworks of art, in the space between the disciplines and by actively searching for new media, channels and platforms.
Facets of contemporary eroticism
At the first exhibition in which Kusama participates in the Netherlands, she shows shoes, bags, garments and panels, all covered with countless gold or silver sprayed phallus shapes. It is 1965 and The Hague gallery Orez presents the group exhibition Facets of contemporary eroticism. This exhibition marks the beginning of the impactful Dutch years of Yayoi Kusama and forms the opening of the exhibition in Schiedam. Kusama ends up in a Netherlands where the discussions about sexual liberation are just getting started.
“The sex revolution is coming now. The pill set the woman free. It is now the woman who chooses. Everyone takes everyone. That would be ideal. No, not Yayoi himself. They call me a priest in New York, so I'm out of it. Yayoi is not participating.”
Yayoi Kusama in an article in Algemeen Dagblad, November 1967
Trauma and obsessions
However, Yayoi Kusama's inspiration does not come from social discussions, but from a much more personal source. For her, an obsession with food, flowers, phalluses and sex is inextricably linked to (sexual) trauma in the past. Throughout her life, Kusama creates works that deal with the idea of 'self obliteration', or disappearing into a kind of endlessness. This is reflected in the now world-famous Infinity Nets, the large canvases full of dots, but also in objects covered with fabric phallus shapes, macaroni and flowers, of which in Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 several examples can be seen.
Yayoi Kusama is a striking appearance as a Japanese woman, short in stature and with a poor command of English and Dutch. She also struggles with fears and delusions. She is appreciated and praised, but she is also seen and treated as a curiosity by many. Kusama decides to take matters into his own hands. She no longer adapts to what is expected of her, she stands for who she is. She propagates her cultural identity, for example, by wearing kimonos during happenings or photo sessions. And she keeps reversing the roles, by asking men to undress, but also by taking control of the way she is photographed. Kusama poses self-confidently as a 'polka dot priestess' in front of the camera of Dutch photographers. She makes her strength of her self-image.
Happenings and fashion
Kusama takes the liberty of exploring new media, such as the happening, and new platforms, such as the street and the club scene, with her art. Fashion has also been embraced by her since 1968. She designs clothing that is colorful and liberating, sometimes pushing the boundaries and provoking, such as garments with holes in the genitals. She presented this fashion in unannounced fashion shows on Dam Square in Amsterdam and in the streets of The Hague, among others. She makes the clothes in an empty bank building in Scheveningen together with Willy Verstappen, the wife of photographer Harrie Verstappen.
About the exhibition
On display in Schiedam are more than 30 works of art by Yayoi Kusama, all made in the Netherlands in the period 1965 to 1970. More than half of them have never been shown to the public before. The exhibition also includes many photographs of Kusama that were made in the Netherlands. Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 shows how Kusama became part of the Dutch art world from 1965 onwards. She connects with the artists of the zero group, among others, makes friends and receives support from collectors and galleries. At the same time, as an Asian woman in a male-dominated art world, she regularly experiences barriers and opposition.
Collaboration with 0-INSTITUTE
Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch Years 1965-1970 has been compiled by the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in close collaboration with the 0-INSTITUTE, which has been researching Kusama's Dutch years for many years. More information.
Catalogue
At the exhibition Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch years 1965-1970 a catalog of the same name is published in the Netherlands. (ISBN: 9789462088054, 208 pages, paperback, 29.95 euros)