Yayoi Kusama: Present Infinite

In celebration of one of Kusamas most iconic infinity roomsJapanese artist Yayoi Kusama is known worldwide for her polka dots and colorful, immersive light installations featuring unusual and organic forms, such as pumpkins. Present Infinite is a tribute to her beloved and singular practice, with a particular focus on Fireflies on the Water (2002), one of her most famous Infinity Mirror Rooms from the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Fireflies on the Water is a roomsized installation where, as the title suggests, the lights seem almost natural, like fireflies on a quiet summers night. The pool of water creates an incredible sense of stillness and the mirrors reflect neverending images of themselves, creating a sidereal ambience. Space appears infinite, without top or bottom, beginning or end. As in Yayoi Kusamas early installations, including her Infinity Mirror Room (1965), Fireflies on the Water embodies an almost hallucinatory approach to reality.Yayoi Kusama (born 1929) has worked not only in sculpture and installation but also painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction and other arts. In her early career in Japan, she produced mostly works on paper. With her late1950s move to New York City, she joined the ranks of the avantgarde, working in soft sculpture and influencing the likes of Warhol and Oldenburg. At this time, she was also involved with happenings and other performanceoriented works and began to deploy her signature dots. Her work fell into relative obscurity after her return to Japan in 1973, but a subsequent revival of interest in the 1980s elevated her work to the canonical status that it still enjoys today.