Infinity Net 1998

Yayoi Kusama made this “Infinity Net” painting, probably with oils, covering the surface with red dots. It's not just about seeing; it's about feeling the rhythm of making, the repetition, the kind of trance you can get into when you’re just going, going, going. Up close, you can see the paint has texture, it's not flat, but kind of built up. The physicality, that’s what gets me. See how some of those dots catch the light? It's like each one is breathing. I think about Agnes Martin sometimes when I look at Kusama's work, but where Martin is all about that quiet grid, Kusama is pushing it, almost to a breaking point, filling the space. It’s a conversation, right? Each artwork, each artist, responding to what came before, trying to push it somewhere new. And, there’s no one way to read it, that’s what’s so great.