London’s Serpentine unveiled a new public sculpture on Tuesday by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
The bronze work, located next to the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens, is titled Pumpkin and stands at six-meters-tall with a diameter of 5.5 meters. It is painted yellow with black polka dots in the artist’s signature style.
Kusama is known for her immersive installations, intricate paintings, and large-scale sculptures. Since 1946, pumpkins (known as kabocha in the artist’s native Japan) have featured regularly in her practice, and the new artwork is her tallest pumpkin sculpture to date.
“I am sending to London with love my giant pumpkin,” she said. “Since my childhood, pumpkins have been a great comfort to me, they are such tender things to touch, so appealing in color and form. They are humble and amusing at the same time and speak to me of the joy of living.”
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine’s artistic director, said it was an “honor” to present Kusama’s sculpture. “Her signature pumpkins have become a landmark motif for the artist, and this project is a reunion for Kusama and Serpentine.”
Kusama’s first retrospective in the UK was at Serpentine in 2000 and explored her obsession with polka dots, nets, food, and sex.
