Painting of infinite wonder

Do you like polka dots? Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s painting, Infinity Net (TWHOQ) overflows with polka dots. It was painted in 2006 using acrylic paint. The canvas is divided in three. The name for a painting in three parts is triptych (pronounced trip-tick).

The painting looks like a web of dreamy golden dots painted on an orange background. Some people say it looks like clouds or waves of gold on orange. Even though the pattern is simple, it has a mysterious effect if you look at it closely. The artist has painted many Infinity Nets in different colours, over the years. She says that the Infinity Nets give her a feeling of endless dots stretching outside of the canvas.

Melding

When she was a child, Kusama had a strange vision. She was looking at a red-flower patterned tablecloth. When she turned her eyes to the ceiling or other parts of the room, she saw the same red flower pattern everywhere. She felt herself disappearing into the pattern. This is the feeling that the artist wants to capture in her Infinity Net paintings. By repeating marks and dots all over her paintings and sculptures, the artist feels she is making herself melt into, and become a part of the bigger universe.

The Infinity Net paintings are Kusama’s most famous paintings. They sell for millions of dollars.

Yayoi Kusama creates art in many forms — paintings, sculpture, performances, and installations of 3-D art. Much of her artwork is covered in dots.