I Want to Love on the Festival Night, 2017
Image: Yayoi Kusama/Ota Fine Arts Tokyo/Singapore
From the personal events in her life and that distinctive bright red bob, to the intricate net, dot and pumpkin motifs recurring in her works; the enigma that is Yayoi Kusama has captured the imagination of art collectors and enthusiasts alike.
For the first time in Southeast Asia, National Gallery Singapore, in collaboration with Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, stages a major retrospective of the renowned Japanese artist’s practice spanning more than seven decades.
ALSO SEE: Louis Vuitton's Volez, Voguez, Voyagez exhibition in Seoul
One of the world’s most influential artists, Yayoi Kusama, who recently turned 88, shows no signs of slowing down
Image: Yayoi Kusama/Ota Fine Arts Tokyo/Singapore, Victoria Miro London and David Zwirner New York
With a focus on the immersive and expansive nature of her artistic repertoire, Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow, which opened on June 9, takes visitors through more than 120 of her works in various mediums such as paintings, sculptures, videos and installations from the 1950s to the present, including brand-new, never seen before works.
Step inside and get lost in Kusama’s immersive mirror rooms; discover major recent works such as her My Eternal Soul and Love Forever series; and be the first to see new paintings where the artist continues to push creative boundaries. And for the first time since the opening of National Gallery Singapore, Kusama’s Narcissus Garden takes over the historic City Hall Chamber.
Behind all this is a story of tenacity—Kusama defied societal and personal challenges to become one of the art world’s trailblazers of the 20th and 21st centuries whose work resonates across the world.
Self-Portrait, 1952
Image: Yayoi Kusama
Death of a Nerve, 1976
Pumpkin, 1981
The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, 2017
Starry Pumpkin, 2015
Invisible Life, 2017
Left-over Snow in the Dream, 1982
Infinity Mirrored Room – Gleaming Lights of the Souls, 2008
Love Forever series
Image: National Gallery Singapore
With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever, 2013
Image: Yayoi Kusama/Ota Fine Arts Tokyo/Singapore, Victoria Miro London and David Zwirner New York
My Eternal Soul series
Image: National Gallery Singapore
Narcissus Garden, 2017
Image: National Gallery Singapore
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow runs until September 3 at Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 3 City Hall Wing, National Gallery Singapore.
In case you missed it, here's our interview with the cast of KL's longest running musical.
