Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929) is a renowned provocative avant-garde artist from Japan and one of the most eminent figures in her country’s contemporary art scene. She was raised in Matsumoto in Japan and was trained at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts in ‘Nihonga’ — a traditional Japanese painting style. Tormented by mental illness as a child, she began experiencing hallucinations that often involved fields of dots which she expressed in her work throughout her artistic career and she is sometimes called ‘the princess of polka dots.’Later, inspired by American Abstract Expressionism, Kusama moved to New York in 1958 where she immersed into the avant-garde scene. Her early work in New York City included what she called “Infinity Net” paintings which consisted of thousands of tiny marks obsessively repeated across large canvases. Kusama’s portfolio consists of works ranging from paintings, films, performance, fashion poetry to fiction but she is known primarily for her sculptures and installations. She created her works in variety of styles including Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Surrealism and infused the themes of feminism, obsession, sex, aggression, psychology and powerful self-reflection.Kusama is known for her extensive use of polka dots and for her infinity installations and has established a trademark out of repeating motifs and psychedelic colors. Among her most notable works are her captivating large-scale installations such as “Infinity Mirrored Room” and “Obliteration Room.”Here is a performance analysis of Yayoi Kusama’s artworks in the auction market:1. Sales Trend in the Past 20 YearsThe graphic below indicates an increasing trend in terms of sale value and volume both for the artist that reached its highest of $78 million in 2017 for 324 lots— which was a remarkable year for the artist.In that year, she fetched an astonishing sale for two of her artworks at Sotheby’s— “Untitled” sold for $5.4 million in Hong Kong and “Lake Michigan” realized $5.3 million in New York. Overall, there has been a steady increase in the total sales and volume for the artist since 2011.2. Volume of Artworks on Offer vs. Bought-in RateA trend of artworks offered at auction and the bought-in rate can be observed in the graph below. Overall, the lots offered in the past decade for the artist, have shown a growth and reached a peak of 377 lots in 2017.If we observe the trend in the past five years, the bought-in registered was very low, in range of 7 percent to 14 percent, which is a clear indication that Kusama became popular in that period and most (86 percent to 93 percent) of her artworks were sold.3. Average and Median Sale Price Trend in the Past 20 YearsThe average price for the artist remained very low in the period 1997 to 2008. We further looked at her past sales and found that during this period, 78 percent of the artworks were sold for less than $50,000.Referring to the section-1, the year 2017 registered the highest total sales for the artist so far and so was the average sale price at of $240,733, as can be seen in the graph below. The median price in both 2015 and 2017 remained at a humble $25K to $29K, which reflects that most of artworks were sold in around these values.4. Highest-Priced ArtworksKusama‘s top 10 artworks, in terms of selling price, all were sold at Sotheby’s and Christies, except one which was at Poly International.Her highest-ever sale was “White No. 28.” This “Infinity Net” painting achieved highest total of $7.1 million in November 12, 2014, at Christie’s New York. The oil on canvas from 1960 which was signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1960’ (lower left); signed again, titled and dated again ‘Yayoi Kusama 1960 WHITE.NO.28’ (on the reverse).The second highest sale was “No. Red B,” a 1960 oil on canvas work, which sold for $7 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2015.The third highest sale occurred in 2015 at Sotheby’s New York, when “Interminable Net #3,” painted in 1930, fetched $5.9 million.5. Price Band in Which Her Works Have Sold in the Past 10 YearsMost (33 percent) of her artworks were sold in the price band of $10,000 to $50,000; followed by 25 percent between $100,000 and $1 million. About 59 works, or 3.2 percent, sold for more than $1 million over a 10-year tenure.6. Where Have Her Works Sold the Most in the Past 20 YearsIn terms of total sales, Sotheby’s leads with total share of 41.3 percent; then Christie’s at 34 percent in the past two decades. Whereas in terms of volume, the artist seems to be selling the most, or 34.3 percent, at auction houses other than Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips.7. Top Selling Media in the Past 20 YearsKusama worked in a wide variety of media and her acrylic works on — canvas, fabric and collage are the most famous, which represent the best return with $169.2 million for 701 lots.8. Top Selling Auction Houses (Auction results for the artist since January 1, 2018):It is evident in sale trend chart (section-1) that Kusama became extremely popular in the past 4 to 5 years. In this year, her sales reached $58 million (up until July 31, 2018) and most of her works have sold at Sotheby’s ($19.7 million of 58 lots). A listing of top auction houses by total sales during the period January 1 to July 31, 2018, is shown below. With her sales this year crossing 75 percent of total sales last year, and with exiting auction season ahead of us in Q4, we expect the artist to surpass all her earlier records this year. In summary, Yayoi Kusuma is a good investment opportunity for art buyers/investors.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder Louise Blouin
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