Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkins

For Yayoi Kusama, the pumpkin is far more than a decorative motif. It is a familiar and comforting figure, one with a “humble face and generous form”, that she has explored since childhood. Together with her iconic polka dots, it has become one of the most recognizable visual signatures of her practice, rivaled only by her celebrated Infinity Mirror Rooms. From hand-painted resin and bronze sculptures to monumental outdoor installations and even high-fashion collaborations, Kusama’s pumpkin has transcended the art world to become a global cultural icon.

The World of Yayoi Kusama

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi Kusama began experiencing recurring visual hallucinations as a child, seeing fields of polka dots and endless nets spreading across her vision. She has documented these experiences extensively in her autobiography Infinity Net, where she describes the condition now associated by her doctors with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since 1977, she has voluntarily lived at Seiwa Hospital in Tokyo while continuing to work every day in a nearby studio. The pumpkin first became a central motif in 1993, when Kusama officially represented Japan at the Venice Biennale. By the mid-1990s, it had established itself as one of the defining symbols of her artistic practice and, more broadly, of contemporary art.

Yayoi Kusama, Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010 (© Yayoi Kusama)

Two motifs run through Kusama’s entire body of work. The first is the polka dot, which she associates with the sun, the moon and the infinite universe. The second is the Infinity Net, a painstakingly hand-painted web of looping forms that covers paintings and sculptures in hypnotic patterns. The pumpkin brings these two visual languages together. Its naturally ribbed surface provides the perfect canvas for Kusama’s signature dots, while its rounded, generous form makes it, in the artist’s own words, a “humorous” and reassuring motif that softens the sometimes overwhelming nature of her immersive installations.

Pumpkins in Kusama’s Art

Kusama’s pumpkin sculptures are most often made from hand-painted resin. Monumental works are generally produced in fiberglass-reinforced resin, while smaller editions are cast in resin before being covered with her unmistakable polka-dot pattern. They exist in a remarkable range of sizes, from collectible resin editions produced for sites such as Naoshima by Benesse Holdings, measuring only a few dozen centimetres, to monumental bronze or fiberglass sculptures created for public spaces. This variety of formats and materials is reflected in the art market, where prices range from relatively affordable editions to unique works worth millions.

Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin (Red Edition), 2015 – Resin available on Artsper.com

The Japanese island of Naoshima, located in the Seto Inland Sea, is home to Kusama’s two most celebrated pumpkin sculptures, both installed as part of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima. The Yellow Pumpkin, unveiled in 1994 at the end of a pier overlooking the sea, has become one of the most photographed landmarks in contemporary Japan. In August 2021, it was severely damaged and swept away by Typhoon Lupit, which struck the region with winds exceeding 100 km/h. Although the sculpture was recovered, it could not be restored. A new version, produced under Kusama’s supervision, was installed in the same location on 4 October 2022. Installed in 2006 at Miyanoura Port, the Red Pumpkin stands approximately four metres high. Unlike its yellow counterpart, it is hollow and open to visitors, allowing them to walk inside and experience light filtering through its circular openings.

The Pumpkin as a Cultural Icon

The motif has long transcended the museum walls and continues to inspire. Like Takashi Murakami with his smiling flowers, Yayoi Kusama has turned the pumpkin into a defining icon of contemporary visual culture. Her collaborations with Louis Vuitton in 2012 and again in 2023 brought pumpkins and polka dots to handbags, clothing and storefronts around the world, even transforming entire city streets into immersive dotted landscapes.  In September 2024, a Louis Vuitton pumpkin-shaped bag designed by Kusama sold for $151,200 at Christie’s, setting a record for this model and highlighting the seamless intersection of the artist’s universe, luxury, and popular culture.

Yu Deng, “Polka Dots Rabbit” Tribute to Yayoi Kusama, 2024 – Resin available on Artsper.com

The market for Kusama’s pumpkin works spans a broad range of prices. At the entry level, small resin editions, particularly those produced for Naoshima, generally sell for a few hundred to several thousand dollars, making them an accessible starting point for collectors. At the opposite end of the market, unique or very limited-edition sculptures command exceptional prices. In April 2023, Pumpkin (L), a monumental bronze sculpture from 2014, sold for $7.98 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, setting a new auction record for one of the artist’s sculptures.

Kusama’s overall auction record, however, remains a painting from her Infinity Nets series, which achieved $10.9 million at Phillips in 2022. For anyone considering a first purchase, authenticity should always be carefully verified. The edition, provenance, seller’s certificate and consistency between the signature, which is often stamped rather than handwritten on smaller editions, and the type of work should all be checked before making a purchase.