Yayoi Kusama, again

 

Spring is finally coming to New York, with an exhibition in the Botanical Garden guaranteed to cheer up the grumpiest souls.

Yayoi Kusama, I Want to Fly to the Universe (2020) at the New York Botanical Garden. Collection of the artist. Photo by Sarah Cascone.

 

Yayoi Kusama has done it again, producing a number of joyful and exhilarating works, which people will be able to enjoy amongst the daffodils and blossoming cherry trees, without having to queue up for hours, as they did to experience her Infinity rooms.

The artist’s passion for nature—nurtured in her childhood since her parents made a living from the cultivation of plant seeds—is expressed in explosive exuberance.

Yayoi Kusama, Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees (2002/2021) Photo by Sarah Cascone.

Trees wrapped in polka dots lead the public from one work to the next

Dancing Pumpkin (2020) Photo by Robert Benson Photography, courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner.


Her iconic pumpkin has broken out legs and is dancing.

 

Yayoi Kusama, Starry Pumpkin. Photo by Sarah Cascone.

Another is blossoming in a greenhouse .

The exhibition is entitled Kusama: Cosmic Nature, and will be on until October.

I remain awestruck by this 92 year old artist who, despite her complicated familial and romantic history, and chronic mental problems—she permanently and voluntarily lives in a psychiatric hospital—still has the creativity and zest to produce such joyful works.

 

Previous posts about Kusama  here and here and here. Photos from Artnet News article by Sarah Cascone, April 8, 2021.

17 thoughts on “Yayoi Kusama, again”

  6. Brilliant. Love the spotty lady. Bonkers art works so well. Saw an installation of hers in Singapore a couple of years ago. Reminds me of the Chihuly exhibition in our botanic gardens last year. Such a great setting

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