Once the focus of the 1960s New York avant-garde, Yayoi Kusama has become an icon in the sense of a visually recognizable brand. Her polka dots, stunning carvings of flowers and pumpkins, and best of all, the ‘Infinity Mirror Room’ regularly attract people who wait for hours just to be inside for even a minute. It all looks familiar and absolutely perfect. coca cola. Like Coca-Cola, it goes with anything. Recent collaborations with Louis Vuitton also included Instagram and Snapchat. filter.
The downside of being a brand may be that there is a degree of predictability. But being so well-known actually gives a seasoned and original visual thinker like Kusama a sort of head start when it comes to shocking and delighting audiences. I have to. Because she can accomplish a lot just by tweaking our expectations. Her latest room, a 13-foot-tall white cube with a fully mirrored interior entitled “Dreaming of a Sphere of Earth, I Give My Love,” is a near pop-art revelation. Thing.
Unlike most previous rooms, this room, currently on display at the David Zwirner Gallery in Manhattan as part of a new exhibition, I Spend Every Day Embracing Flowers, has large windows that allow you to see inside. Yes, with 16 full, half, or quarter windows. Circles of red, yellow, green and blue colors. Each partial circle touches the edge so tightly that its reflection makes the whole visible. Among other things, this means that the gaze painlessly slides into the mirror world instead of stopping at the edge.
Previously, the Infinity Room was claustrophobic, but now that you can take your eyes off the everyday world halfway, you’ll be left bewildered and contemplating Infinity. Like Dan Graham’s pavilion, you might see someone outside with overlapping reflections of your feet, or you might find yourself staring curiously at the yellow-stained gallery.
Seen from other angles, the circle is opaque and recalls a modernist disco party while bubbling in the distance. As always, the best action happens in the corner. There you can watch miniature reflections of yourself pass by each other, watch the ego ignore your ID and vice versa, gather four doppelgangers and have an intimate conversation. can. I was so interested in all my miniature critics that I didn’t notice the crisp, full-size reflection in front of me until just before I stepped outside.
In addition to the mirrored room, “I Spend Every Day Embracing Flowers” contains 3 giant steel flowers. His three “pumpkin” walls in yellow and black are polished to a sports car glow. And nearly 30 new acrylic paints. Graphic and boldly colored paintings composed of dots and lines spread throughout the room and grab your heart. His 2021 untitled canvas in particular is a little too busy at first glance. Flowers are attractive, too, but pumpkins, with their hat-like stems and sexy undulations, are surprisingly complex and sophisticated.
Still, the “Infinity Mirror Room” is the star. Because, as the name promises, it offers something for everyone and never runs out. It’s a high concept Japanese teahouse with a low yellow door that forces you to crouch as you enter. This is a metaphor for an ostensibly sealed box of consciousness, a work of art, or some other fantastical landscape. It is famous as an Instagrammable scene. It’s really ‘what you see is what you get’, but even if you stay all day, you won’t discover all the interesting details.
The only problem is the matrix. Queues are first-come, first-served.. As a critic, I skipped ahead, so I asked a few visitors what they thought. Caterina Alves, who was visiting from London, waited about an hour, but she felt it was worth it. “First of all, she’s amazing,” she said, adding, “This is the only free exhibit of Kusama I’ve found.” (The gallery also arranges visits for school groups.) Gina Noy, who was near the door, found the hour-plus wait added to her experience. “Great,” she said, gesticulating at the women standing behind her. “We just chatted.” And Stephanie Helen, whom I spoke to after coming out, offered this general advice: “If you want something good, please wait in line.”
Yayoi Kusama: I spend my days hugging flowers
On view through July 21st at the David Zwirner Gallery at 519, 525 and 533 West 19th Street, Manhattan. 212-727-2070; davidzwirner.com.
