Yayoi Kusama Exhibition

Last year I had the opportunity to visit Melbourne to see the Yayoi Kusama: 10 Years of Infinity Exhibition. I had first been introduced to Kusama’s art when visiting Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas in 2019.  I was taken by the playfulness, explosions of colour, and 3D nature of some of her works, so when I found out about the exhibition, I decided to go and booked flights and a ticket to the show.

National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)

The exhibition was held at the NGV and ran for 4 months finishing in April (2025). It was the world’s largest exhibition of her works. Having not  visited Melbourne before, the exhibition and exploring the inner city was an experience that I’m glad I didn’t miss.

Simplicity & Colours

While Kusama’s work included a lot of colour and her art seemed to be simplistic in nature this was not the case. Her art tested the boundaries of the abstract expressionism in the 1950s. For Kusama, creating art and experimenting was also a coping mechanism for the hallucinations that she has suffered from since childhood.

“Her works are celebrated for their playfulness, depth, and immersive nature, cementing her as one of the most influential artists of our time.” The Urban List

 

Yayoi Kusama Immersive Art

In the 1960s Kusama started creating installations that were immersive. Her first one was called Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field Art. Stuffed phallic soft sculptures were reflected by mirrors giving the illusion of infinite space. The exhibition at the NGV included 10 immersive installations.

Right from outside the NGV on St Kilda Street, you are greeted with a row of plane trees wrapped in pink with white polka dots “From The Ascension of Polka Dots”. Then as you head into the NGV you will notice the waterfall adorned with black polka dots. In front of which is over 1400 stainless steel balls, a new iteration of her “Narcissus Garden Installation”

 

You couldn’t miss the large ‘Dancing Pumpkin” in yellow with black polka dots in Federation Court. Standing at over 5 metres and made from bronze.

As I moved into The Great Hall with it stained glass ceiling there was yellow and black balls hanging from the ceiling. Its a large capacity function area but was set up with seats for quiet reflections.

Installations

Some of the installations:-

 

Video of Installations include:-

The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe, Narcissus Garden, The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, Love is Calling, My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Lights.

The installations also included Kusama for Kids, Chandelier of Grief, and Ladder to Heaven which I unfortunately ran out of time to see.

 

Yayoi Kusama Art Work

Nearly 200 pieces of work were included in the exhibition from painting, collages, fashion and more. It covered her early life growing up in Japan and some of her early works in oil. Other works were photographic slides of herself, collage’s that included watercolor on paper and inexpensive materials such as airmail stickers.

 

“Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. Giving off an aura of my sacred mental state. They embody a base for the joy of living, a living shared by all of humankind on the earth. It is for the pumpkins that I keep going,” Yayoi Kusama

 

Leaving Inspired

Surrounded by so much colour and imagination was incredibly uplifting. This is why I love seeking out creative experiences when I travel. Kusama’s work filled my head with ideas and inspiration for my next adventure.