Yayoi Kusama is one of the world’s most celebrated living artists. Her polka-dotted pumpkin and flower sculptures are recognised globally, and her infinity mirror rooms are pivotal to the twenty-first century’s turn towards art as an immersive experience.
Yayoi Kusama explores Kusama’s unique worldview, starting with artwork created during her childhood and culminating with works made this year. In between, Kusama’s extraordinary career is surveyed, from her experimental years in postwar Japan to her contributions to New York’s avant-garde scene in the 1960s, through to her return to Japan in 1973 and subsequent re-emergence as an artist of international renown.
Comprising close to 200 works, this is the largest exhibition of Kusama’s work presented in Australia and one of the most comprehensive retrospectives of the artist ever presented globally. Featuring painting, sculpture, collage, fashion, film and installation, the exhibition reveals the astonishing breadth of Kusama’s multidisciplinary practice.
Head of Thutmose III wearing a white crown Karnak, Thebes, Egypt 18th Dynasty, reign of Thutmose III, about 1479-1457 BC Green siltstone H 46cm, W 19cm, D 32cm © The Trustees of the British Museum