“I, Kusama, am the modern Alice in Wonderland.” Yayoi Kusama

City Gallery Wellington celebrates the launch of its new Building Development with a solo exhibition of the extraordinary work of Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. Kusama’s work, idiosyncratic and consistently original, has positioned her as one of the most acclaimed and respected contemporary artists working today. Kusama has always been interested in creativity in a broad sense and has worked across a range of disciplines, from writing and musical composition, dance, fashion and design to painting, sculpture, performance, film and experiential environments.

A radical and epoch-defining figure in the New York art world of the 1960s, Yayoi Kusama vied with Andy Warhol for the position of the most publicised artist of the era. Kusama was an iconoclast, a mover and shaker in the American counter-culture of that time, organising public happenings as well as making influential work in a period when significant changes and innovations were taking place in art practice. Kusama was embraced by important artists of the era such as Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, as well a Donald Judd and Don Flavin. In 1973 Kusama returned to Japan, where she continues to play a prominent role in the international art-world. Her work has been highly influential to a new generation of artists and designers.

Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years presents seminal works from the 1960s and 1970s alongside more recent work. Kusama is renowned for her lifelong interest in visual perception and sensory experiences, her fixation with repetitive patterns and forms, her iconic use of dots and her dizzying installations. Mixing Op Art, Pop Art and sculptural practice, her all-enveloping room-installations, mirrored to infinity, are hallucinatory, surrealistic, and utterly unlike anything else you will experience in the world of art. A major new publication which accompanies the exhibition, featuring an incredibly lush picture biography is available for $95. Read More

Principal Sponsor:
Ernst & Young

Exhibition Sponsors:
Japan Foundation, Tokyo
Hawkins Construction

Exhibition generously supported by:
Asia New Zealand
Quality Hotel, Wellington

Additional Support:
3M
Signsquad

Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years is a partnership between Museum Boijmanns van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and City Gallery Wellington. It is curated by Jaap Guldemond (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen), Franck Gautherot, Kim Seungduk (Le Consortium, Dijon), with additional works selected for Australasia by Judith Blackall, Director of Artistic Programmes, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and Paula Savage Director, City Gallery Wellington.

Entry charges apply
Adult $10, Concession $8 (Student, Senior, Children 5-16)
Family $25 (2 Adults, up to 3 Children)
To enable access for all, we are offering free entry every second Wednesday beginning 7 October.