草間 彌生Yayoi Kusama

Born in Matsumoto, Nagano. Troubled by hallucinations from childhood, she confronted them through painting. Moving to New York in 1957, she emerged as a leading avant-garde artist, covering surfaces with endlessly repeated nets and polka dots, and continued to work prolifically after returning to Japan in 1973. The pumpkin, which she first encountered at her family's seed nursery as a girl, remained her most beloved motif.