I knew little of Yayoi Kusama's work apart from what is often shown on social media, so this biography in graphic novel form was a great introduction. From her early days and challenges with her family to her struggles with mental health, this covers it all. The most fascinating part for me was her work as a form of protest and how she utilized bodies in them. The art in this graphic novel is pleasing and emotionally evocative without being overly done up. All in all, this is a great intro to the artist and it whet my appetite enough that I wanted to seek out more information.

This is a delightful and playful take on making a mini biography on such a powerful artist, Yayoi Kusama. I already had a love for and some knowledge of Kusama through my own art studies but this gives you a great visual breakdown of key points in her eclectic life story. The whole book is beautifully illustrative and reflective of the Kusama and Macellari’s work. The book is clear in its a narrative but sensitive too.

I look forward to seeing the finalised book which will be a great reflective piece for me and others to be inspired by. Wonderful.

Being relatively new to the whole arena of reading and appreciating graphic novels, Kusama by Elisa Macellari has created a new and higher standard for any graphic novel I choose to read in the future. The beautiful two-toned panels (who knew turquoise blue and bright red looked so good together in a non-jarring way), the perfect font, the magical artwork, the lucidity of the story and the minute details in the book made my head go dizzy. I read this book in one sitting and when I fell in love with the book, I promptly went and watched BBC Arena’s documentary about her titled ‘Kusama Infinity’ and was blown away by Kusama’s awesomeness. The beauty of this book is that it marries the art of the artist with the art of the illustrator herself, thus making it a perfect delight to read and stare at all day.

Yayoi Kusama, popularly known for her mirror and polka dots art, is more than just another passing fad. She is an artist beyond compare, who has used her art as a channel for her mental health issues and to normalize homosexuality and also in her performance art on the streets of New York to protest against the Vietnam War. She is a brave, bold and outspoken woman who has rightfully earned her place in the art world, despite the dominance of the white-male artists whose work mainly involved an element of modernism (duh, boring). The stories behind her art and the ingenuity of the art themselves inspired many artists such as Andy Warhol (he called it inspired, she called it copying). Her contribution to the art world could be condensed into the frenzied dots of all colours and sizes on her artwork, the mesmerizing Infinity Nets and the overabundant phalluses (the subtlety with which the reason behind this is drawn in the book is brilliant) and her work involving nude artists which celebrated the human body in all its beauty. The graphic novel does justice to each of these contributions in the book and at the same time makes you love her artwork to the extent of checking her out on Google Arts and Culture, which has a disappointingly meagre collection of her famous installations. I think my most favourite one has to be the “Infinity Mirror Room – Love Forever“. The graphic novel inserts Kusama’s artwork like little Easter Eggs, ensuring that the reader has a delightful time stumbling upon the beauty of each one, one at a time.

The graphic novel also throws light on her early life in Matsumoto, Japan, her asexual relationship with an older man, her life in New York as lesser known artist, the return back to Matsumoto due to ill health and her mental health struggles. The panels are intricate, and I truly appreciated them post watching the documentary on my second read of the novel.

The only thing that saddened me was the fact that I had not come across this artist before, nor had my literary heroes ever mentioned her name when they mentioned artworks by “popular” artists during various scenes involving artwork in books. Yayoi Kusama is worthy of every bit of our celebration, and I sincerely hope that this book is one giant step towards that.

Every moment I spent reading through this graphic novel memoir of artist Yayoi Kusama felt like a dream. The color palette is limited, and yet the illustrations seemed to... grow? through the story as Kusama's world expanded. I practically felt myself falling into them, which is appropriate I think considering the scope of her actual work. The topic of mental health was addressed respectfully, showing only what Kusama herself was experiencing and feeling.
My one and only frustration with reading this was that it was a digital copy and that I WANTED the book in my hands. The images are so pigmented that I could practically smell the ink coming off of the screen, and I think a physical copy, the feel of the paper, would only add to the whole reading experience here. I see me buying myself a copy on release, and likely buying a copy for a few other choice friends!

I was provided a digital copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kusama: The Graphic Novel by Elisa Macellari is a biography on the well known Avant-garde sculptor, painter and novelist - Yayoi Kusama. So it makes sense that it's a graphical biography. I'll admit at this point that I wasn't aware of who Yayoi Kusama is before reading this novel.

Elisa Macellari through this book has fan-girled and showcased her love for the artist. The story of Yayoi's life has been beautifully illustrated and told in the simplest of ways. For those who like me are unaware of who Yayoi Kusama is, let's talk a little about the subject of this book.

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist, sometimes referred to as ‘the princess of polka dots'. She moved from Japan to America in 1957. Although she makes all sorts of art – paintings, sculptures, performances and installations – they all have one thing in common: DOTS!

The novel beautifully illustrated the major events in her life which led her to where she is today. From a girl whose own mother would tear up her art work, to dealing with hallucinations (which led to her using only polka dots) throughout her life and other severe mental disorders too, Yayoi Kusama is an inspiration to many! She is bold, she is fearless and she is talented as hell.

I've always known that polka dots were a huge thing during the 70s but how did they become so popular and how did thousands of circles put together become such a huge thing? I found out through this story and I have been in complete awe of the entire concept since.

I rate this novel 4 out of 5 bookmarks. The illustrations were brilliant, a perfect ode to the illustrator's inspiration. The story telling flowed smoothly. This book is fabulous not because of how IT is, rather it's fabulous because it'll make you fall in love and be in awe of Yayoi Kusama too! But I also felt like it lacked some major descriptions about the subject too, one example is her take on pumpkins which is a major inspiration to some of her art pieces.

But I still highly recommend giving this graphic novel a read, it'll hardly take you more than one sitting and will leave you mesmerized by Kusama's journey to fame and excellence.

Presenting Yayoi Kusama's life in graphic novel form is the perfect way to tell the famous Japanese artist’s story. Having seen her work, both in Japan and in the United States, I loved getting to know more about her childhood and her drive to create art that is rooted in both Eastern and Western cultures. Elisa Macellari's art is bold and immersive, reflecting Kusama's vivid imagination, especially through the use of her famous red dots which appear in various iterations throughout the book. After breaking with her family in Japan, Kusama moves to New York, where she continues to struggle with mental health issues as she finds her artistic voice through experimentation and performance art and forges unique friendships with famous American artists. This is a vibrant, informative graphic novel that will delight art lovers and fans of Kusama's work.

This graphic novel was so beautiful. I’m a longtime fan of Yayoi Kusama and it was eye opening to read this experience of her life. The illustrations were gorgeous and I loved the color palette! It was a quick and easy read with some really lovely art to accompany it.

3.5 ⭐️
Following the prolific Yayoi Kusama from birth to old age, we see her struggling with breaking free of the confines of Japanese normality. At young she is discouraged from pursuing art by her parents but her love for art transcends all. Her longest relationship is with art and has always been in the forefront in her life. We follow her life through her successes and personal hardships. We see her struggling with battle with mental illness which I thought was some wonderfully.

The art in this graphic novel was beautiful and really embodies Kusama‘s essence. The colours did a great job converting her inner feeling. We can see a change in colour palette from her childhood to adulthood in New York. As her style evolves, so does the style in the book. In the beginning the comic is confined to boxes but as it progresses it becomes more free flowing and grander, exactly like Kasuma. I would give the art a 5/5.

I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in art or the artist.

the art in this is STUNNING! i love the story, and how the colour palette is intricate yet fluid as it moves with the characters and the story. i flew through this and found myself engaged on every page

first id like to thanks netgalley and the author for giving the opportunity to read and review the book. secondi love kusama yayoi’s art i really do but i thought the book didn’t cover a lot from life time and only fragments of it but its okay i enjoyed the book.

I first heard of Yayoi Kusama when I visited one of her infinity rooms at the Tampa Museum of Art. Since then, her style and life have fascinated me. This graphic novel was beautifully written and illustrated to tell the story of Kusama in a style that is true to her. I absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to Kusama.

We delve into the story of a young girl born in Japan, her family problems, and her dilemmas about the life she wants to live.
Kusama is a girl who seeks to become known as an artist and achieves it and in this work we see her beginnings, her problems, her passage through time until the end, how she was considered in the USA how she lived mostly there and the events that happened .
We see how Japanese society saw her, and everything that surrounded her returning there, the life of the artist Kusama is very interesting and at times very intriguing. This graphic novel shows us her art, and her peculiar way of narrating the story makes her very close to knowing the artist, the truth was very hypnotizing and it was a pleasure to read about the artist, in her we can also see the growth of the art world with women and their evolution over the decades and how people see it in society.

I've always been fascinated by Yayoi Kusama's art, and I was really excited to learn more about her life. Her life story is really compelling, and the artwork in this graphic novel was absolutely gorgeous. Highly recommend this

Review to come September 10th on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I knew I had to try out this book, a graphic novel about a great artist? Sign me up. Plus, the cover was just fantastic and captured the Kusama perfectly.

This one is about mental health, about dreams, about family, about finding your way in the world, setting your own path. It was beautifully drawn, and there was also text accompanying the illustrations to tell us more and give us dialogue.

We see how Kusama lives in a strict family, a father who cheats on his wife, a mother who is horrible and mean (at least in my eyes because no parent would do the things she did). We see how Kusama hears things that aren't there/shouldn't talk. We see her lose herself in her art and try to make something out of it as she definitely isn't letting her mom's opinions take over and I loved that. I loved that she went out to find someone to get her out of the country, to free herself from the shackles of her family.

We see how her mental health affects her. I already read some about Kusama and her mental health but seeing it drawn is a total different story. I think the author did a great job on illustrating the mental health parts.

I loved seeing various other artists who knew/know Kusama, like Salvador Dali.

OK, there was one scene that had me laughing and that was when Joseph called. How in heavens name is the phone staying on her head like that? Believe me, that is not how phones work. :P

The book was amazing and we see her from young to old, we see her whole journey and history and it while this book was just 126 pages it never felt rushed. Every part of Kusama's history gets a spot. Wonderfully done! I would highly recommend this one.

I just enjoyed reading this!

To be honest, until I finished reading this book, I wasn't familiar with the artist Yayoi Kusama and her work. But once I finished, I did look up on the internet about her work.

The author has done an amazing job in depicting Kusama's style of work. To a common admirer like me, her art is full of fun. But once I read this biography my appreciation for her work has no words especially considering the troubled imagination from which her work spawned.

Yayoi Kusama's story is classic example of- how believing in your dreams irrespective of what anyone thinks and pursuing them with hard work, will definitely lead you to the path of success.

Thank You to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing for this ARC!

Insightful and beautifully illustrated and written. I really enjoyed this graphic memoir and high recommend it to anyone.

This is my first review for #NetGalley! I signed up recently because why not. I like books, and I like my hobby of reviewing books, and I was lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to have an early look at Elisa Macellari's beautiful graphic novel about Yayoi Kusama, KUSAMA: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL. Thank you so much to the publisher, Lawrence King Publishing. Also, I believe it was translated from the original Italian, which makes it great for #WITMonth!

Kusama is one of my favorite artists, not only because her immersive works are gorgeous and terrifying and enchanting and wonderful, but because she has overcome EVERYTHING to become what she is. She was raised in post-war Japan by oppressive parents who were anything but supportive of her ambition to become an artist, has suffered from mental illness for her entire life, and yet! She, a young, broke, Japanese woman left home to live alone in New York to make art and...she made it. Granted, she still struggles with her mental health, but she is making art because it is the only way she knows how to live. I love her work and I admire and am inspired by her tenacity. I have stood in long lines to see her exhibits and journeyed out to the Rockaways in 2018 to experience Rockaway! 2018: A Narcissus Garden, which was nothing short of incredible. I'm very much looking forward to her installation at the New York Botantical Garden, which was postponed until 2021 due to COVID.

This biographical graphic novel is beautiful, if a bit restrained. It tracks her story and style from the more traditional Japanese, through her provocative naked-people art of the 1960's, and up through the pumpkins and infinity rooms of today, all the while including the dots, always the dots. I'm docking a star because it really does skim a bit, particularly near the end - she is still rocking it and making amazing installations in her 90's! That said, it is a lovely introduction to Yayoi Kusama's life and work, recommended for both her many admirers and folks who maybe aren't as familiar with her contemporary art.

Format: ARC e-book, via Netgalley
Read for:
2020 Reading Women Challenge Prompt 15 - A biography (This is my last book for this challenge! Hooray! Roundup post coming soon via Instagram.)

This is a great insight into the artist Yayoi Kasama.
Many people may be familiar with this artist because of the distinct trend she started in the 1960 and 70's.
The artists struggle with mental illness, family values, culture, and art are very relatable.This is a short graphic novel of her art and life, there are more in depth books.
This is a great introduction of who was Yayoi Kasama.

3.5 stars, pointedly rounded up

A simple color scheme serves this graphic biography well: Japanese artist, Kusame’s signature tomato red, sky blueish, a pinch of desert peach and stark contrasts of black and white dot the story with biographical scenes. Kusame had a life of suffering and psychic disorders and a sense of melancholy permeates the pages.

Like good books in all genres, Macellari’s graphic novel makes the reader want to discover more. I looked up more information about Kusama and her art. (I vaguely remember reading about nude performance art and polka dots when I was a young teen. Her ‘performance art’ was considered quite inappropriate in many circles.)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this. Especially the art style. It's so unique an captivating.

The story is quite dark but yet beautiful. It really shows that when you have a dream and you pursue it, it doesn't matter what your parents or family members think. They will be proud of your achievements in the end no matter what. So don't let their prejudice make you choose your path around the world.

I thought this read was very fun and well paced and would recommend it very much.