Large White Net

An even layer of dark paint; above that, a veil of white; and, finally, pallid arcs and skeins of paint that articulate small apertures through which the underlayers are visible: such simplicity of production belies the subtlety of effect. Yayoi Kusama’s careful manipulation of the thickness, fluidity, and density of the overlying web of lines renders a visual fabric in flux, wherein inchoate forms press forward or recede into the picture plane. As the title ­suggests, the painting evokes a net, and in that sense can be seen as a machine-woven canvas wrapped in a fabric of erratic loops of paint. Created during Kusama’s first months as an émigré in New York, <em>Large White Net</em> reflects the artist’s keen sensitivity to the artistic currents she encountered, and is fraught with her own concerns about obsession, repetition, seriality, and non-composition.