Focus on Visual Arts

Exploring Yayoi Kusama

For 2025 in Visual Arts, we are stepping into the vibrant and mesmerising world of Japanese contemporary artist, Yayoi Kusama.

What a world it is!

We will be transcending the boundaries of ideas and experiences.

Yayoi will take us on an experimental journey that can only fascinate, evoke joy and ignite our imaginations! Her style, themes and bold forms will inspire and shape the artwork we create this year.

For term one, of course, we must initially, as all artists, prepare our art folios.

• We personalise them with the word ART.
• We consider the elements of colour, line, shape and pattern as we decorate that iconic word!
• We reflect on the design and arrangement of the letters.

Colour & Paint

We will be focussing on the art element colour as well! Of course, colour means PAINT!

As a result, paint will be our passion and our medium to express colour.

We will continue to study, examine and reflect on our prior knowledge as we learn the many classifications of colour and the way artists use it to express themselves. It is such a captivating element of ART!

So what is there to learn about COLOUR?

• Foundation: It is all about the primary and secondary colours.
• Grades 1&2: Hot and cold colours dominate.
• Grades 3&4: Complementary colours are the focal point.
• Grades 5&6:  Refining colour mixing skills creating tones, blends, tints, and shades for colour charts.

Understanding colour and applying it to our practice enables us to approach our work with increasing confidence and skill.

A Visit to the NGV is a Must!

How fortunate are we to have a world exhibition of Yayoi Kusama’s at the National Gallery of Victoria until April.

The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience the largest exhibition of Kusama’s creative and conceptual output ever presented. This celebration of close to two hundred works stands as one of the most comprehensive retrospectives of Kusama’s remarkable global career.

I hope your family can find time to be immersed in the infinity rooms and discover her trademark pumpkins, flowers and polka dots.

~ Marjie Tkatchenko, Visual Arts Teacher