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Yayoi Kusama (Matsumoto City, Nagano, 1929) 

Arm Chair , 1963

Acrylic on chair, shoes and sewn and stuffed cloth pouches 38 in. x 38 in. x 50 in. (96.52 cm x 96.52 cm x 127 cm) Gift of Mr. Gordon Locksley and Mr. George Shea 1970.54

These are from Kusama’s first body of sculpture, which the artist described as “accumulations.”  She covered utilitarian objects with masses of stuffed and sewn cloth pouches, like phallic protrusions, and painted them either a single color or with polka dots.  Symbols of traditional female roles – domestic objects and the activity of sewing – are joined with male forms.  Consumer culture merges with biology gone awry in a surreal world leavened by humor but dominated by obsession.   - Collection of the Akron Art Museum