yayoi kusama's 'festival of life' at david zwirner gallery features new mirrored infinity rooms

david zwirner gallery presents ‘festival of life’, a multi-sensory exhibit of recent work by celebrated japanese artist yayoi kusama in new york city. the exhibition features sixty-six paintings from kusama’s iconic ‘my eternal soul’ series, new large-scale flower sculptures, a polka-dotted environment, and two ‘infinity mirror rooms’.

the oversized flower-potted tulips are made from fiberglass-reinforced plastic
image © designboom

the exhibition debuts two of yayoi kusama’s new ‘infinity mirror rooms’, one which invites viewers to look inside through peepholes, and another which can be experienced from within. for the immersive infinity room, stainless steel balls create a sense of infinity through the play of reflections between the circular shapes and the surrounding mirrors. the ‘peephole’ infinity room features miniature light bulbs in changing colors which reveal a hexagonal pattern.

the exhibition presents the first showing of kusama’s tulips in the united states
image © designboom 

the exhibit also features a sculptural installation from kusama’s series ‘with all my love for the tulips, I pray forever’ (2011). the oversized flower tulips are made using fiber-glass reinforced plastic and are painted with the same red polka dots as the floor, ceiling and walls. the immersive rooms create an all-enveloping viewing experience, eliminating the appearance of depth and transporting visitors to a red and white polka-dot land.

installation view, yayoi kusama: festival of life, david zwirner, new york, 2017
image © yayoi kusama / courtesy of david zwirner, new york; OTA fine arts,tokyo/singapore/shanghai; victoria miro,london; yayoi kusama inc.

in the third space of the exhibition, large scale paintings from the artist’s ‘my eternal soul’ series have been arranged in a grid on all four walls. at the center of the room, kusama’s new steel sculptures portray colorful flowers which complement the bold color palette of the paintings.

sculpture from kusama’s series, ‘with all my love for the tulips, I pray forever’ (2011)
image © designboom

a concurrent exhibition has also opened at david zwirner’s east 69th street location, where ‘infinity nets’ paintings from her 1950s series will also be on view. the two major shows continue until december 16, 2017 across both galleries. the gallery’s inaugural exhibition in 2013 with kusama’s ‘I who have arrived in heaven’ also spanned all three spaces at west 19th, while her second gallery solo show featuring the ‘obliteration room‘ was held in 2015.

the tulip flowers are painted in the same pattern as the walls, creating an optical illusion
image © designboom

visitors can walk around the infinity room and experience the illusion from multiple angles
image © designboom 

the balls recall kusama’s installation ‘narcisuss garden’ shown at the 33rd venice biennale in 1966
image © designboom

in the second infinity room, peepholes reveal flashing light patterns of different colors
image © designboom

changing colors reveal a hexagonal pattern that is mirrored endlessly
image © designboom

the use of colors adds to kusama’s bold color palette throughout the exhibit 
image © designboom 

the use of light and mirror creates distinct architectural scenarios
image © designboom 

installation view, yayoi kusama: festival of life, david zwirner, new york, 2017
image © yayoi kusama / courtesy of david zwirner, new york; OTA fine arts, tokyo/singapore/shanghai; victoria miro, london; yayoi kusama inc.

the recent ‘my eternal soul’ paintings are accompanied by kusama’s new stainless steel sculptures
image © designboom

the stainless steel flowers have been covered with urethane paint
image © designboom

large scale paintings will also be on view at david zwirner’s east 69th street location
image © designboom

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