The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is set to unveil a groundbreaking exhibition featuring the renowned artist Yayoi Kusama, alongside a special children’s exhibition titled Kusama for Kids. This extraordinary showcase brings together ten of Kusama’s iconic immersive artworks, marking the largest collection ever displayed in one venue globally. Among these is the highly anticipated global debut of her latest infinity mirror room, which will be revealed on December 15, 2024, exclusively in Melbourne, Australia.
The centerpiece of this exhibition, Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light, 2024, invites guests into a breathtaking environment that expands into an endless celestial realm. This new creation is part of Kusama’s celebrated series of infinity mirror rooms, which cleverly utilize mirrors to conjure the illusion of boundlessness within a limited area. Since she first introduced her mirrored environments in the 1960s, Kusama has consistently developed immersive installations that allow audiences to engage with her limitless imagination. Her infinity mirror rooms have been showcased worldwide and are among the most recognizable pieces in her artistic repertoire.
Another standout feature of the exhibition will be the Australian premiere of The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe, 2019. This captivating installation boasts six-meter-tall polka-dotted tendrils that seem to undulate and intertwine above as visitors navigate through the space. This work embodies Kusama’s deep connection to the infinite aspects of nature, which she describes as “a mysterious energy or feeling in the infinity” that “grows and grows, never stopping.”
An exciting feature of the exhibition is Dots Obsession, 1996/2024, an immersive room filled with biomorphic inflatables. This installation employs mirrored walls to amplify Kusama’s fascination with dots, which she views as symbols of individuality and, in vast quantities, representations of the cosmos. As visitors step into Dots Obsession, they are enveloped in a sea of mirrors and polka dots that create an illusion of infinity, prompting deep reflection on their own existence within the universe.
Additionally, attendees can explore several of Kusama’s more recent celestial mirror rooms, such as Chandelier of Grief, 2016, and Love is Calling, 2013. Chandelier of Grief showcases a stunning baroque chandelier that slowly rotates within a glass prism at the heart of a hexagonal space adorned with mirrors. Meanwhile, Love is Calling invites guests into a vibrant realm filled with colorful, tentacle-like forms that emerge from both the floor and ceiling. Another standout piece is The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, 2017, which encourages visitors to peer through a small opening to discover a hidden, infinite landscape of glowing pumpkins.
The exhibition also features an interactive artwork that invites audience participation. Created for the 2017 NGV Triennial and supported by the NGVWA, Flower Obsession transforms a typical domestic setting by adorning walls, furniture, and objects with red flowers. Over the course of the exhibition, these flowers will flourish, gradually enveloping the space in a breathtaking display. Another engaging experience, The Obliteration Room, 2002–present, located in the NGV’s FREE children’s gallery as part of Kusama for Kids, allows participants to contribute their stickers to a once-blank white apartment, ultimately covering every surface in a riot of colorful dots.
Immersive environments of note include Invisible Life 2000/24, a mesmerizing corridor adorned with convex mirrors reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors, and With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever, 2013, where three oversized tulips tower over visitors in a vibrant, polka-dotted setting.
Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama stands as one of the most significant and celebrated artists of our time. Her unique and eccentric approach to pattern, color, and symbolism has garnered her international acclaim, allowing her to craft immersive, thought-provoking, and deeply personal artworks that cross cultural and linguistic boundaries. Kusama has made lasting impacts on major art movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including minimalism, pop art, and feminist art. Recently, she introduced a public installation at one of London’s busiest subway stations.
Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition will be showcased from December 15, 2024, to April 21, 2025, at NGV International on St Kilda Road, Melbourne.