Melbourne’s cultural calendar is welcoming a stunning new addition, with the highly anticipated global exclusive Yayoi Kusama exhibition opening this Sunday.
95-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is an icon of contemporary art and recognised globally for her distinctive bold and colourful work. Across eight decades Kusama has created immersive, thought-provoking and personal art that transcends cultures.
The exhibition features 200 works and has been curated especially for Australian audiences. Spanning her incredible career, the exhibition includes sculpture, painting, collage, fashion and films alongside immersive artworks, including the global premiere of Kusama’s new awe-inspiring infinity mirror room.
The exhibition also includes the Australian debut of Dancing Pumpkin, 2020, a towering five-metre-tall yellow-and-black polka-dotted bronze sculpture, which has been acquired by the NGV.
The Dancing Pumpkin forms part of the free access program that also includes a dedicated children’s gallery Kusama for Kids which will feature The Obliteration Room, 2002–present, an interactive installation that kids and families to cover a white domestic interior in a kaleidoscope of coloured polka-dots.
In January, the Kusama exhibition will also be a focal point for the free NGV Kids Summer Festival, which will take over NGV venues in Melbourne, and the NGV Kids on Tour program which will present free family-friendly activities at more than 150 venues across regional and outer metropolitan areas.
The NGV will also present a range of public programs during the exhibition, including NGV Friday Nights which will see the NGV open until late with food and live music alongside the exhibition.
Yayoi Kusama is on display at NGV International, St Kilda Road from Sunday 15 December until 21 April 2025, with further information and tickets available via the NGV website.
