Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama‘sshow at PAC Milan  |  November 18 2009 – February 7 2010

If you happen to be in Milan make sure you go and check I want to live Forever, Yayoi Kusama’s art exhibition at PAC (Padiglione di Arte Contemporanea), Milan. An exclusive event for Italy, dedicated to the unquestioned protagonist of Japanese contemporary art whose works are part of the most prestigious collection all around the world.

She describes herself as an “obsessive artist”. Her work shows some attributes of minimalism, surrealism, popart and abstract expressionism, and is infused with autobiographical and psychological content.

Early in Kusama’s career, she began covering surfaces (walls, floors, canvases, and later, household objects and naked assistants) with the polka dots that would become a trademark of her work. The vast fields of polka dots, or “infinity nets,” as she called them, were taken directly from her hallucinations.

The PAC exhibition includes a selection of recent figurative and abstract paintings, large-scale sculpture, installation from the last decade and a selection of formative drawings from the 1950s and 60s.

Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity is a hypnotic environment, featuring the infinite interactions between lights, mirrors, and water. Viewers step into a dark chamber that is softly lit by several gleaming golden lights, closing the door behind them. Standing on a platform surrounded by water, the viewer is reflected in this “infinity room” by walls of mirrors.

The PAC exhibition is the result of a unique collaboration with Gagosian Gallery, New York. “I want to live forever” will be open to the public until February 7th.