29 places to see Yasoi Kusama's art around the world
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Loading... - Kaito Daigo
- 25 Mar 2022
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First announced in January 2020 and postponed barely two months later due to the pandemic, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s look at the wildly popular Japanese artist will finally debut April 1. Running through November 27, One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection is a “petite exhibition” featuring five pieces from the contemporary museum’s collection, including two social-media-friendly Infinity Mirror Rooms – and it’s completely free.
If the nation’s capital isn’t in your travel plans this year, not to worry – around the world, there are ample opportunities to see the iconic artist’s work. In addition to the galleries – David Zwirner in New York, Victoria Miro in London and Ota Fine Arts in Tokyo – these are the museums, parks and even subway stations where you’ll find Kusama’s polka-dot pumpkins, reflection-filled mirror rooms, oversized Day-Glo tentacles and more.
North America
Art Gallery of Ontario – Toronto, Canada
In 2018, this Ontario institution crowdfunded more than $650,000 toward the cost of its Infinity Mirrored Room, per the Toronto Star. Titled “Let’s Survive Together”, it features an endless reflection of silver orbs. (It's temporarily closed due to COVID-19, so check for updates before you go.)
Beverly Gardens Park – Beverly Hills, California, USA
On view in Beverly Gardens Park since 2007, Kusama's painted-fiberglass “Hymn of Life: Tulips” sculpture was recently uprooted and sent north to the New York Botanical Garden for its 2021 show, Cosmic Nature. It's currently being refabricated in stainless steel to avoid earlier issues with water damage and slated to be back home in Beverly Hills this summer.
The Broad – Los Angeles, USA
LA’s contemporary-art fave boasts two infinity rooms: “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away”, which is accessible by timed entry only, and  ”Longing for Eternity”, which doesn’t require reservations. Tickets are released at 10am on the last Wednesday of each month for visits the following month.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art – Bentonville, Arkansas, USA
Northwestern Arkansas’ American-art gem counts two pieces in its permanent collection, so while “Infinity Mirrored Room - My Heart Is Dancing into the Universe” is temporarily closed for maintenance, you can still see “Flowers that Bloom Now,” a brightly painted stainless-steel sculpture planted near one of the museum’s outdoor trails.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – Washington, DC, USA
The Hirshhorn was responsible for 2017’s Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, the astonishingly successful exhibit that took the internet by storm on its two-year tour of the US and Canada. Now the artist returns victorious with One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection, which includes “Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field (Floor Show)”, a recent reimagining of the artist's 1965 breakthrough installation, and “Pumpkin”, which immerses viewers in floor-to-ceiling polka dots.
In light of its limited capacity, the gallery is requiring timed-entry passes – free and acquired on a first-come, first-served basis – for all visitors ages 12 and up. The catch? Unless you’re a Hirshhorn member, you have to be there in person to snag them, starting at 9:30 am each day.
Institute of Contemporary Art – Boston, USA
Kusama has created more than 20 infinity rooms to date, and “Love Is Calling” is one of the biggest, filled with giant inflatable polka-dot-covered tentacles that change color as a recording of the artist reading a Japanese poem plays on a loop. The pieces is part of the ICA’s permanent collection; timed-entry tickets are required.
Mattress Factory – Pittsburgh, USA
In 1996 Pittsburgh’s Mattress Factory hosted “an elaborate mirror-and-polka-dotted mannequin installation,” according to ARTnews, so it’s only appropriate that the combination would make a modern-day return. A small black-lit space with a white formica floor covered in multicolored fluorescent dots, “Infinity Dots Mirrored Room” is a permanent installation. Read More...
