Yayoi Kusama’s largest-ever Australian exhibition—and one of her most comprehensive of all time—opens on Sunday at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne. The retrospective showcases nearly 200 works by the superstar Japanese contemporary artist, including a new infinity room that Kusama calls “a message of love to the world.”
Yayoi Kusama at the NGV
Occupying the entire ground floor of the NGV, Yayoi Kusama traces the 95-year-old artist’s entire career—from her 1930s childhood creations to a brand-new installation. The exhibition draws from Japanese and Australian collections, as well as from Kusama’s personal collection, to showcase a rarely-seen selection of archival ephemera. These include studio photographs, sketches, drawings, and candid correspondences. Yayoi Kusma also showcases a record-breaking total of ten immersive rooms, including the debut installation of Kusama’s latest infinity room.
New Infinity Room Is “A Message of Love to the World”
Alongside her prolific use of pumpkins and polka dots, Yayoi Kusama is best known for her immersive installations, which she began creating in the 1960s. Among these are her iconic infinity rooms, which use mirrors and lights to create the illusion of unending space. Kusama’s newest addition to the roster of infinity rooms is My Heart Is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light. Making its global debut at the NGV, it comprises a series of mirrored balls that shine light through small holes. The effect is a seemingly endless stream of color-changing polka dots.
Kusama’s new infinity room is accompanied by a dedicatory message from the artist. “To the people of Melbourne, since birth, I have always transmitted, through resplendent art, a message of love to the world,” Kusama wrote. “It is love that illuminates our lives and makes life beautiful. I aim to deliver in my art a heartfelt prayer. My hope is to experience the beauty of a world where peace and love have fully arrived. It is in celebration of this everlasting hope that I offer love to my eternal humankind.”
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More Kusama Retrospective Highlights
Other highlights of Kusama‘s Australia retrospective include Dancing Pumpkin, a 16-foot polka-dotted pumpkin that invites visitors to dance beneath it. Also yellow and polka-dotted, The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eventually Cover the Universe immerses visitors in a sea of larger-than-life tentacles. Both works have never been exhibited in Australia before now.
Yayoi Kusama opens to the public on December 15 at The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. The retrospective runs through April 15, 2025.
