Where can you see a Yayoi Kusama Exhibition? (2024)
Photo by Matailong Du. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA.
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has captivated audiences around the world with her innovative, psychologically charged works.
She is best known for her infinity mirror rooms and polka-dotted sculptures and paintings. In recent years, major retrospectives of Kusama’s work have toured globally, introducing new audiences to her avant-garde artistic vision.
For those looking to experience one of Kusama’s signature immersive exhibitions first-hand, there are several opportunities on the horizon. This article highlights the current and upcoming Yayoi Kusama exhibitions that are taking place around the world. From London to Tokyo, I cover the top venues giving viewers access to her mesmerising installations that blur the lines between art and hallucination.
Yayoi Kuama: An Overview
Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts; Victoria Miro; David Zwirner © YAYOI KUSAMA
The wildly imaginative works of Yayoi Kusama offer an unforgettable viewing experience. Known for her hallucinatory polka-dotted motifs, infinity mirror rooms, and surreal soft sculptures, Kusama has established herself as one of the most significant contemporary artists.
Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama began exhibiting her paintings and sketches in the 1950s. After moving to New York in 1958, she began staging provocative performance pieces and exhibitions that gained her notoriety. She became an influential figure among Minimalists and Pop artists like Andy Warhol. However, mental health issues led her to return to Japan in 1973.
Kusama’s signature infinity rooms like “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away” (2013) immerse viewers in kaleidoscopic realms of pulsing lights and reflective surfaces. Her painted sculptures of fantastical biomorphic forms covered in polka dots, such as “Pumpkin” (2010) and “Flowers That Bloom at Midnight” (2009), have a mesmerising and psychedelic allure. Her iconic polka dot patterns that repeat endlessly also feature prominently in her paintings and collages.
Major retrospectives of Kusama’s work have been organised around the world in recent years, introducing her art to new generations. At 93, she continues to produce powerful work from her studio in Tokyo that conveys her boundless creativity. For an experience that engulfs you in colour, optical effects, and the inner workings of this avant-garde artist’s mind, be sure to check out a Yayoi Kusama exhibition coming to a museum near you.
1. Tate Modern, London
Exhibition: Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms
Exhibition Duration: 18th May 2021 to 28th April 2024
The Tate Modern in London presents an exhibition titled "Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms" featuring two of Kusama’s iconic infinity mirror installations.
The two installations are “Infinity Mirrored Room - Filled with the Brilliance of Life”, one of her largest to date, and “Chandelier of Grief”, which creates the illusion of infinite rotating chandeliers. The exhibition also provides historical context for Kusama’s mirrored rooms through a presentation of photographs and moving images, some on display for the first time.
The exhibition is presented in The George Economou Gallery until 28th April 2024. Tickets are £10 for general admission. There are also special timed sessions, such as, exclusive night events.
For more articles about immersive art in London, please read here.
2. Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester University, New York
Exhibition: Infinity Mirrored Room - Let’s Survive Forever, 2017
Exhibition Duration: 14th September 2023 to 5th May 2024
The Memorial Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition featuring Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room - Let’s Survive Forever. This immersive installation invites visitors to experience a seemingly infinite field of silver orbs through the use of mirrored spheres suspended from the ceiling and arranged on the floor. Tickets for timed entry can be obtained in person at the admission desk on the day of your visit, with priority access for members.
3. MOCO Museum, Barcelona
Exhibition: Modern Masters
Address: MOCO Museum, C/ de Montcada, 25, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Exhibition Duration: Permanent
MOCO Museum Barcelona hosts a permanent exhibition titled “Modern Masters” featuring works by iconic modern artists. Through this exhibition, Moco Museum Barcelona celebrates iconic modern masters like Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Salvador Dalí, who made exceptional contributions to art, culture, and the world through their unique visions and daring art.
For more information about art museums in Barcelona, please read here.
4. Perez Art Museum, Miami
Exhibition: Yaoi Kusama: Love is Calling
Address: Perez Art Museum, 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Florida 33132
Exhibition Duration: 9th March 2023 to 7th April 2024
Perez Art Museum is currenting presenting the “Yayoi Kusama: Love is Calling” exhibition. This exhibition features her 2013 work “Love is Calling”, which is Kusama’s largest and most immersive Infinity Mirror Room, representing the pinnacle of her artistic career and bringing together key elements of her visual style.
The darkened mirrored room features soft sculpture tentacles covered in polka dots that extend from the floor and ceiling, changing colours as visitors walk through. It explores her enduring themes of life, death, and sharing universal love through art.
For more articles about immersive art in Miami, please read here.
5. WNDR Museum, Chicago
Exhibition: Dots Obsession, 2008 – Yayoi Kusama
Address: WNDR Museum, 1130 W Monroe St, Chicago, Illnois 60607
Exhibition Duration: Ongoing
The WNDR Museum in Chicago is currently exhibiting Yayoi Kusama’s immersive polka dot installation “Dots Obsession”, transporting visitors into the artist’s obsession with repetition and the infinite.
The exhibit features floating yellow and black polka dots and walk-in installations.
“Dots Obsession” was created by Kusama in 2008 and has been exhibited globally. This is the first time the yellow version is being shown in the US.
For more articles about immersive art in Chicago, please read here.
6. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Exhibition: Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Love
Address: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 3rd St, San Francisco, California 94103
Exhibition Duration: 14th October 2023 to 7th September 2024
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is hosting a major exhibition of works by Yayoi Kusama titled “Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Love”. This exhibition will run until 7th September 2024.
The exhibition will feature Kusama’s kaleidoscopic infinity rooms, including her newest work “Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love” (2023). It focuses on Kusama’s exploration of infinity and love through vivid colors, reflections, and immersive environments.
7. Grand Central Madison Terminal, New York
Address: Grand Central Madison Terminal, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
Exhibition Duration: Permanent
The new Grand Central Madison terminal in New York City, features monumental new permanent artworks by renowned artists Yayoi Kusama and Kiki Smith. Yayoi Kusama’s work is from her “My Eternal Soul” series. It is personal yet playful imagery meant to draw viewers in and briefly transport them from the hustle above ground. The artworks were commissioned to enhance the experience for commuters and contribute to the subway system’s reputation as an “underground art museum”.
8. Yayoi Kusama Museum, Tokyo
Exhibition: Yayoi Kusama’s Self-Obliteration/Psychedelic World
Address: Yayoi Kusama Museum, 107 Bentencho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0851, Japan
Exhibition Duration: 9th November 2023 to 24th March 2024
The Yayoi Kusama Museum, established by Yayoi Kusama herself, presents a collection of her artworks in an exhibition aimed at spreading messages of world peace and human love. The current exhibition titled Visionary Colors features Kusama’s paintings spanning from her early works to her recent pieces, highlighting her unique colour expressions and artistic evolution. The exhibition showcases her use of diverse colour contrasts and patterns, from surreal dark hues to vibrant and optimistic primary colours. It explores how Kusama’s colour representations have evolved throughout her career, including her experimentation with repeating patterns, monochrome nets, and immersive installations.
9. M+ Museum, Hong Kong
Exhibition: Dots Obsession - Aspiring to Heaven’s Love
Address: M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Exhibition Duration: Permanent
M+ Museum in Hong Kong is hosting Yayoi Kusama’s installation “Dots Obsession - Aspiring to Heaven’s Love”. This exhibition exemplifies her signature style of polka dots and infinity mirrors, providing an immersive experience that places the viewer into the cosmic realm.
The installation features large polka dot balloons suspended from the ceiling and a mirrored cubic environment. It builds on Kusama’s 1960s works using repetitive dots and mirrored spaces to convey her concept of infinity and accumulation. The M+ exhibition provides insight into Kusama’s lifelong fascination with infinity and her pioneering artistic vision.
10. WNDR Museum, Boston
Exhibition: Let's Survive Forever
Exhibition Duration: On now
Let’s Survive Forever is an immersive experience at the WNDR Museum, Boston, featuring Yayoi Kusama’s iconic Infinity Mirrored Room. Visitors are enveloped in a space filled with mirrored surfaces and suspended stainless steel balls, creating a sense of infinity. The installation pays homage to Kusama’s themes of repetition and infinity, with references to her past works like Narcissus Garden.
11. Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama
Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama have collaborated to create a colourful limited edition collection featuring Kusama’s signature polka dot and infinity net motifs on Louis Vuitton bags, accessories and ready-to-wear pieces.
The new Kusama x Louis Vuitton collection features the artist’s iconic motifs on Louis Vuitton classics like the Neverfull, Speedy and Keepall bags, as well as small leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear and accessories.
Kusama’s polka dots and net patterns cover Louis Vuitton monogram and Damier canvases along with colourful explosions on black patent leather for a playful psychedelic effect
Her collaboration with Louis Vuitton started in 2012 and this 2023 collection continues their creative dialogue merging art, fashion and bold designs.
The Kusama x Louis Vuitton collectibles are available on the Louis Vuitton website, in stores and pop-up shops starting late July 2023.
Courtesy Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. © YAYOI KUSAMA
I hope you have found this information about where to view Yayoi Kuama’s exhibitions interesting and helpful. If you have visited any of these exhibitions, I would love to hear your thoughts, please email me and let me know at [email protected].
For more articles about immersive art, please read here.
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