Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
From polka dot pumpkins to mirror rooms, it is hard to mistake Yayoi Kusama‘s art for anyone else’s work. A new exhibition at the David Zwirner Gallery in New York, titled I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, assembles some of the many different facets of the artist’s oeuvre, featuring massive sculptures, colorful paintings, and immersive installations. The extensive collection is stretched across David Zwirner’s spaces at 519, 525, and 533 West 19th Street.
The title of the show comes from three large-scale sculptures that are featured in the exhibition. These pieces depict massive blooms colored in bold hues and a mix of polka dot and abstract prints. “The flowers convey a duality, present throughout Kusama’s work, between life and death, celebration and mourning, figuration, and abstraction, with each opposite simultaneously pushed to its limits,” the exhibition states. Flowers and other parts of the natural world are recurring themes in Kusama’s art and a lifelong interest.
Also included in the exhibition is another series of monumental sculptures. Titled Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love of My Heart, these massive polka dot pumpkin works resemble an undulating wall that wraps around the room and creates an enclosure for visitors. “Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood; they speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art,” Kusama says.
The show also features one of Kusama’s Infinity Mirror rooms. This edition, Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love, possesses circular and semi-circular windows that allow light to enter the room and interact with the interior space. “When the people see their own reflection multiplied to infinity,” Kusama explains, “they then sense that there is no limit to man’s ability to project himself into endless space.”
The exhibition will also showcase 36 paintings by Kusama. These works are emblematic of Kusama’s iconic style, depicting explorations of line and form. Many of these pieces are part of her ongoing series EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE. Kusama wrote a message about the show: “I’ve Sung the Mind of Kusama Day by Day, a Song from the Heart. O Youth of Today, Let Us Sing Together a Song from the Heart of the Universe!”
Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers is on view at the David Zwirner Gallery in New York until July 21, 2023.
A new exhibition by Yayoi Kusama opened at the David Zwirner Gallery in New York.
Yayoi Kusama, 2020. Photo: Yusuke Miyazaki © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of the artist, David Zwirner, Ota Fine Arts, and Victoria Miro)
Titled I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, it features paintings, sculptures, and installations by the famous Japanese artist.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
The title comes from her three large-scale flower sculptures.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
They are painted with a mix of bold colors and prints.
Yayoi Kusama, “I Spend Each Day Embracing Flower,” 2023 (detail) © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of the artist, David Zwirner, Ota Fine Arts, and Victoria Miro)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Yayoi Kusama, “I Spend Each Day Embracing Flower,” 2023 (detail) © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of the artist, David Zwirner, Ota Fine Arts, and Victoria Miro)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
There will also be an Infinity Mirror Room, titled Dreaming of Earth’s Spericity, I would Offer My Love.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
The circular openings allow light to enter the immersive space.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
The exhibition will also showcase 36 paintings by Kusama.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
These works are emblematic of Kusama’s iconic style, depicting explorations of line and form.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Many of these pieces are part of her ongoing series EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Lastly, the exhibition also includes massive undulating pumpkin sculptures.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
These yellow structures are painted with a striking polka dot print, and create a wall-like enclosure for visitors to enter.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Kusama writes about the show: “I’ve Sung the Mind of Kusama Day by Day, a Song from the Heart. O Youth of Today, Let Us Sing Together a Song from the Heart of the Universe!”
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)
Yayoi Kusama, “Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love in My Heart,” 2023 (detail) © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of the artist, David Zwirner, Ota Fine Arts, and Victoria Miro)
You can see this exhibition at the David Zwirner Gallery in New York until July 21, 2023.
Installation view, “Yayoi Kusama: I Spend Each Day Embracing Flowers, David Zwirner, New York, May 11–July 21, 2023 © Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of David Zwirner)