Yayoi Kusama is an artist close to my own heart, not just because her color coordinated attire and hair is an embodiment of her own work but because what she creates is magical. I’ve followed her since my first infinity room encounter at the Gagosian in 2009, I’ve watched her collaboration with Louis Vuitton, attended her retrospective at The Whitney, and now have found myself here at David Zwirner for their latest exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: I Who Have Arrived in Heaven. The exhibition features over thirty new large-scale paintings alongside two mirrored infinity rooms and a recent video installation. Her series of brightly colored paintings allude to universal spheres or basic life forms, a variation on the theme of characteristic polka dots which have dominated and defined Kusama’s work since 1949. An ode to the artist, I had to wear my own polka dot dress by Russian designer Alexander Terekhov. The playful bow and colors seem to bounce off the vibrant cosmic oeuvre that Kusama has created. Here and beyond, the artist’s long-standing philosophy continues to resonate and proliferate, “The earth, moon, sun, and human beings all represent dots; a single particle among billions.”
Alexander Terekhov dress, J.Crew metallic pumps
David Zwirner, Yayoi Kusama: I Who Have Arrived in Heaven
Photographs by Tylor Hou