Art – Yayoi Kusama Exhibition – National Gallery of Victoria (until 21 April)

Yayoi Kusama’s Dancing Pumpkin 2020 now on display for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at NGV International, Melbourne until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photo: Sean Fennessy.

Yayoi Kusama – born 1929 – is a Japanese national treasure in the conceptual “visual” art space.  Her experimental years in art commenced in post-war Japan. In 1958 she moved to the United States and was part of the 1960’s New York avant-garde art scene, before returning to Japan in 1973. In her New York sojourn, her work influenced that of Andy Warhol.

To describe her art as “visual” is an understatement. Her polka dotted pumpkin (see photo above), flower sculpture and infinity mirror room art forms are recognised internationally.

Queensland barristers and judges are familiar with the work of Kusama. She was the designer of the “Eyes are singing out” concept art which encompasses the forecourt of the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts Complex in George Street, Brisbane. Such art – in combination with the glass design of the court building – is intended to champion open and transparent justice. Photos of same – including the plaque unveiled in 2012 upon the complex’s opening – are below.

No less than 180 of Kusama’s works are presently on exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).  The exhibition finishes in about a month hence, 21 April. The art forms I have described above are on display. The size of the exhibit is one to behold.

The writer and his spouse had the pleasure of attending the exhibition in January this year, with two Melbourne based (under 5) grandchildren. Each member of that age spectrum was enraptured with the exhibit display. It is worth the trip to Melbourne to enjoy it! See the electronic display brochure below.  The writer recommends booking, and attending close to daily opening.

The writer also had the privilege of attending –  in 2019, during a typhoon – the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture, where Kusama was born. The museum has a permanent – and extensive – display of Kusama’s works. The Brisbane “Eyes are singing out” is celebrated there as part of her creative art. Such museum, too, is worth a visit if the reader is visiting Japan.

A link to the NGV display is here.