Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors

World-renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has worked in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, performance art, and installation. Kusama’s iconic Infinity Mirror Rooms, which originated with Phalli’s Field in 1965, situate viewers in kaleidoscopic spaces filled with multicolored lights or whimsical forms. These mirror-lined installations reflect endlessly, distorting rooms to project the illusion of infinite space. Over the years, the works have come to symbolize different modalities within the various contexts they have inhabited, from Kusama's “self-obliteration” in the Vietnam War era to her more harmonious aspirations in the present.

By examining her early unsettling installations alongside her more recent ethereal atmospheres, this volume aims to historicize the body of work amidst the resurgence of experiential practices within the global landscape of contemporary art. Generously illustrated, this publication invites readers to examine the series’ impact over the course of the artist’s career. Accompanying essays, an interview with the artist, and a scholarly chronology round out the book.

Exhibition at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, February 16 - May 14, 2017

About the Author:

Mika Yoshitake is Associate Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Melissa Chiu is Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Alexander Dumbadze is Chair and Associate Professor of Art History at The George Washington University, Washington, Dc. GloriaA Sutton is Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art History at Northeastern University, Boston. Miwako Tezuka is Consulting Curator at Arakawa + Gins Reversible Destiny Foundation, New York.