Yayoi Kusama

(Matsumoto, Japan, 1929 - )

Chair

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

© Yayoi Kusama

More Information

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.

Keywords
Chairs
Monochromatic
Phallic
Found objects
Mixed media
Japanese