Hymn of Life: Tulips
2007
Yayoi Kusama's monumental outdoor sculpture Hymn of Life: Tulips comprises three gargantuan tulip forms clad in her signature polka dot patterns rendered across a vibrant multicolor palette of reds, yellows, blues, greens, and purples. Fabricated from stainless steel and installed at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, the work represents Kusama's first public art commission in the United States and the inaugural commissioned artwork of the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Commission. The sculpture masterfully balances Kusama's well known obsessive repetition with an exuberant childlike energy, making it one of the most publicly visible and beloved examples of her three dimensional practice. Owned by the City of Beverly Hills, it remains on permanent public view and is a landmark of contemporary public art in Southern California.
- Medium
- Stainless steel
- Spotted At
- Public Space · City of Beverly Hills
Notes
Kusama's first public art commission in the United States. First commissioned artwork by the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Commission (now Arts and Culture Commission). Placement: roadside. Status: On View.
Collectors of Yayoi Kusama
Artists in conversation
Jeff Koons
American · b. 1955
Koons creates monumental polished stainless steel flower sculptures like his iconic Tulips and Balloon Flower series that share the same highly reflective surface, oversized floral subject matter, and vibrant celebratory color palette as Kusama's Hymn of Life: Tulips.
Niki de Saint Phalle
French · b. 1930
Saint Phalle produced large scale outdoor sculptural works featuring bold multicolor patterns and joyful organic forms installed in public spaces, sharing Kusama's commitment to vibrant color, decorative patterning across sculptural surfaces, and monumental public accessibility.
Takashi Murakami
Japanese · b. 1962
Murakami creates large scale sculptural and painted works featuring smiling flowers rendered in saturated multicolor palettes rooted in Japanese contemporary art, directly paralleling Kusama's floral subject matter, maximalist color approach, and the translation of flat graphic pattern sensibility into three dimensional form.
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