Pop art, polka dots and pumpkins: Yayoi Kusama is the mastermind behind some of contemporary art's most ubiquitous and Instagrammable concepts. The eccentric Japanese creative is one of the most expensive female artists and has been a complex figure for years, having come to fame during the 1960s Pop Art movement and largely influenced by hallucinations. Her prolific oeuvre, which melds Pop Art influences, sculpture, bright color, geometric abstraction and innovative installation, has infiltrated contemporary culture and cemented her as a visual pioneer.
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Now, some of her most recent works form this year are on display at David Zwirner's new 20th Street gallery in Chelsea through December 14, 2019. The main draw for many millennials is her Infinity Room, titled INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE. The cubic mirrored room is adorned with hanging lightbulbs, which flicker from white to pale orange to bright red to black and back again. Each visitor gets a minute to enjoy the phenomenon of the room of blinking firefly-like lights which seem to extend into infinity.
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However, Kusama's genius extends beyond her most famous installation. In the main gallery, 42 paintings from her My Eternal Soul series decorate the far wall, each a colorful kaleidoscope of dot clusters, biomorphic shapes and abstract design. The floor is punctuated by curved stainless steel islands in an installation titled Clouds.
Upstairs the bi-level gallery, past one of Kusama's iconic Pumpkin sculptures, is more mind-boggling artwork and mirror installations. In the first galley, new soft sculptures shaped like sea urchins and tiered totem poles are decorated with vibrant circles and zig-zags, while on the wall swirl neon cast aluminum reliefs composed of repeating faces and more of her colorful paintings, these even more intricate than the ones downstairs.
A book-end to her Infinity Room is another illuminated installation: in an all-dark room, accessed through a heavy curtain, stands Kusama's new Ladder to Heaven (2019), a glowing ladder which changes color set between mirrored platforms, so they also seem to extend into eternity.
Now through December 14, 2019, don't miss this epic and whimsical exhibit that celebrates Kusama's extraordinary creativity and prolific production, even at the age of 90, at David Zwirner's gallery (537 W 20th Street).
