(Matsumoto, Japan, 1929 - )
1962
Enamel on chair and sewn and stuffed cloth pouches
42 x 27 x 33 in. (106.7 x 68.6 x 83.8 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Wilbur J. Markstrom in honor of Rice A. Hershey, Jr.
1998.27
In Kusama’s first body of sculpture, which she described as “accumulations,” she covered utilitarian objects with masses of stuffed cloth phallic protrusions, painting them either a single color or with polka dots. In 'Chair', Kusama joins symbols of traditional feminine roles—a domestic piece of furniture and the activity of sewing—with male forms. 'Chair' offers a vision of domesticity gone awry in which obsessively repeated, sexually charged objects invade what should be an innocent, comforting object.