October 27, 2018
Yayoi Kusama Foundation
Yayoi Kusama, DirectorDeclaration against Exhibitions of Forged Yayoi Kusama Works
An investigation by the Yayoi Kusama Foundation has revealed that forgeries of the works of prominentinternational artist Yayoi Kusama have been exhibited in multiple locations around China as recently as
September 2018 without the permission of the artist or the Foundation. These unauthorized exhibitions
have been held under titles including “草间弥生×村上隆双联展” (Joint Exhibition of Yayoi Kusamaand Takashi Murakami) in Shanghai and Changsha of Hunan Province.
The Foundation hereby makes a declaration against the actions of the organizers of these exhibitions, which
consist of forgeries and in every case have been held without the permission of Yayoi Kusama or theFoundation. The forgeries on display have caused significant damage to the international brand andreputation of Yayoi Kusama. Such actions are a serious infringement of the artist’s copyright andinternational fame and brand and harm the interests of the Foundation. These dishonest acts are a violationof public morals and decency of a notably malicious nature, and are a contemptible transgression of theoriginality and copyrights of all artists. We therefore strongly condemn these actions.
The exhibition referenced above has already been suspended as a result of the Foundation’s declaration.
However, there are reports that fake exhibitions of this kind have also taken place in locations such as
Shenzhen, Guangzhou of Guangdong Province, Wuhan of Hubei Province, Suzhou of Jiangsu Province,Tianjin, Qingdao, Zibo of Shandong Province, Chongqing, and Xinjiang without the permission of Yayoi
Kusama or the Foundation. Other similar cases are currently under investigation too.
Yayoi Kusama reserves all of her intellectual properties (including, but not limited to, copyrights, namerights, and reputation rights), and no organization or person may use any of those rights without thepermission of Yayoi Kusama or the Foundation.
Yayoi Kusama and the Foundation will continue to actively protect all rights pertaining to Yayoi Kusama
and her works, and encourage art experts, art museums and galleries to be vigilant so as not to become
involved in illegal acts such as these.
Any individual with information about a suspected unauthorized exhibition of forged works is asked tocontact the Foundation at the address below. In order to protect the interests of consumers and collectors,
please direct any inquiries regarding the authenticity of Yayoi Kusama’s works to the address below.

Information regarding exhibitions of forged Yayoi Kusama works:
Yayoi Kusama Foundation: fe@yayoikusamamuseum.jp
Inquiries regarding the authenticity of Yayoi Kusama works:
Yayoi Kusama Inc.: registration@yayoi-kusama.jp*Verification of authenticity of Yayoi Kusama works is available at a charge.
Profile of Yayoi Kusama:Avant-garde artist and novelist. Born in 1929 in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. From a young age,
Yayoi Kusama experienced visual and auditory hallucinations, and began creating net and polka-dot patternpictures. In 1957, she went to the United States and began making net paintings and soft sculptures, as wellas organizing happenings and developing installations that made use of mirrors and lights, establishingherself as an avant-garde artist. Overcoming various obsessions, she discovered an artistic philosophy ofself-obliteration via the obsessive repetition and multiplication of single motifs. She has held exhibitions atvarious museums throughout the world, and in recent years her large-scale retrospective exhibitions at theTate Modern and Pompidou Centre have elicited considerable responses. She recorded more than 2 million
visitors to her tours in Latin America and Asia, which led to her being named the ‘world’s most popularartist in 2014’ by the Art Newspaper. In 2016, she received Japan’s Order of Culture. In 2017, a North
American tour of her work started at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.