June 30 – September 10, 2018
This major exhibition examines the contemporary Japanese artist’s 65-year career and contextualizes the notion of infinite expansion and accumulation in her work, culminating in her visually stunning Infinity Mirror rooms. Visitors can dive into five kaleidoscopic environments where the viewer is endlessly reflected within fantastic landscapes, the artist’s intimate drawings, her early Infinity Net paintings, which grow on a canvas like cell formations, and her surreal sculptural objects covered with strange growth formations. These significant works join more than 90 works on view, including large and vibrant paintings, sculpture, works on paper, as well as rare archival materials.
The exhibition also features the North American debut of numerous new works. Her most recent painting series, My Eternal Soul (2009–present), may be the greatest surprise. Exuberant in color and paired with sculptures that bear titles such as My Adolescence in Bloom, they mark a striking progression in the use of Kusama’s signature symbol of the polka dot. Central to the exhibition is a recreation of Kusama’s original 1965 Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field, in which she displays a vast field of polka-dot covered white tubers in a room lined with mirrors. This room merges Kusama’s Accumulations, which had previously existed as sculptural objects, into the illusion of an infinite space.
In addition to the paintings, sculptures, drawings, and environments, viewers will encounter posters, letters, cards, and invitations that relate to Kusama’s early exhibitions and events—including her first solo show which took place in Seattle—a slideshow of Kusama’s performances, as well as a video interview with the artist filmed on the occasion of this exhibition. The exhibition was organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, where the exhibition premiered, and was curated by Mika Yoshitake.
