Cover Yayoi Kusama (Photo: courtesy of M+)

In conjunction with the anniversary of M+, 200 works by the Japanese contemporary artist, with some dating back to the end of the Second World War, will be shown from November

M+ is set to celebrate its first anniversary with Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now, which will open on November 12. This exhibition will feature 200 pieces of Kusama’s work drawn from the M+ Collection, museums and private collections from across Asia, Europe and the US, and from the artist’s own collection.

This will be Asia’s biggest Kusama exhibition outside of Tokyo, and will run until May 14, 2023. Co-curated by M+’s deputy director, curatorial and chief curator Doryun Chong and independent curator Mika Yoshitake, the show will showcase a comprehensive selection of the 93-year-old’s art, spanning from her earliest creative work to her most recent. Presented chronologically, the exhibition will be displayed throughout M+ and according to the themes: Infinity, Accumulation, Radical Connectivity, Biocosmic, Death, and Force of Life.

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Above Accumulation of the Corpses (1950) by Yayoi Kusama (Image: courtesy of Kusama and M+)

Keep your eyes peeled for Death of Nerves (2022)​, a large-scale installation commissioned by M+ that drapes from the ground floor to the B2 level; Dots Obsession—Aspiring to Heaven’s Love (2022), an immersive mirrored space; and two large sculptures titled Pumpkin (2022), which are available for free public viewing in the Main Hall.

“Kusama is one of the most influential and inspiring artists of our time,” says Chong says. “Her Asian roots, transnational history, as well as her singular artistic language and philosophy that she has developed from the 1940s to now, have all contributed to making her the leading cultural figure she is now globally.” He adds that this is the first time the full trajectory of Kusama’s art will be presented in Greater China in a comprehensive and retrospective manner.

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Above Pacific Ocean by Yayoi Kusama (Image: courtesy of Kusama and M+)

The Japanese artist is known for using mirrors, bright colours or polka dots on models, and exhibition halls that envelop visitors. She works with a variety of media, including paintings, installations, sculptures, drawings, collages, moving images and archival materials.

But behind this outwardly fun and playful image is an artist who has gone through wartime trauma, social and cultural constraints and the death of her lover, and father—all of which have impacted her art. She had also voluntarily lived at a psychiatric hospital for four decades to cope with her hallucinations and panic attacks. Through it all, art has been her medium of self-expression and consolation.

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Above Force of Life by Yayoi Kusama (Image: courtesy of Kusama and M+)

“Kusama has transformed her personal experiences—the challenges she has faced in her career, as well as her lifelong battle with mental health—into a creative force through the regenerative power of healing amidst our global pandemic era,” Yoshitake says. “We are delighted to introduce audiences to this artist’s profound vision through new thematic trajectories, as well a newly commissioned work.”

Tickets will go on sale October 13. Find out more at mplus.org.hk.

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