Yayoi Kusama, the 97-year-old Japanese painter, sculptor and the current record-holder for the most expensive piece sold at auction by a female artist, died on Aug. 27 in Tokyo.
Kusama’s work is currently featured in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s special exhibition “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins,” which opened on July 17. In the immersive “infinity mirror room,” guests step inside to witness a room of mirrors full of glowing pumpkins — one of her recurring motifs, along with polka dots and swirls — as far as the eye can see. Before the exhibition opened, museum director Dr. Ainsley M. Cameron told CityBeat that a presentation of her work at the CAM was “overdue.”
“Kusama is an internationally renowned artist, and this incredible force of nature in the contemporary art scene,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about ‘why now’… and it’s about the way that we are currently acting and behaving as a society. How we’re always looking at our phones. We’re always self-absorbed. We’re always tapped into the news. That we never get a chance to break out of that, to have that moment to be immersed in art, immersed in beauty, surrounded by joy, and that’s what Kusama brings.”
This Friday night, “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins” will be free as part of the museum’s Art After Dark program; the experience normally costs $17. Tickets still must be reserved in advance; to do so, visit the museum’s official website.
