yayoi kusama's love is calling exhibition grows a mirrored forest of glowing tentacles in miami

Polka dots on tentacles for LOVE IS CALLING

Yayoi Kusama cultivates and multiplies glowing and immobile tentacles inside a dark room full of mirrors at Pérez Art Museum in Miami for her exhibition LOVE IS CALLING. Psychedelic neon colors hallucinate the viewers into thinking that they have stepped into a dream world, a temporary escape from the hustle-bursting noise and colors of the outside world.

The vaporizing lucid tentacles visually echo in the void and capture the artistic portrait that Kusama has been painting for decades: polka dots. Black periods dot the light sculptures that hang from the ceiling and rise up from the floor, immersing the visitors in the artist’s largest and most kaleidoscopic Infinity Mirror Rooms show to date.

The endless reflections and the illusion of space represent the culmination of Kusama’s artistic oeuvre, exemplifying the breadth of her recognizable visual vocabulary. Yayoi Kusama: LOVE IS CALLING is organized by PAMM Associate Curator Jennifer Inacio, and the exhibition is presented by Bank of America and will run from March 9th, 2023 to February 11th, 2024.

all images: Yayoi Kusama, LOVE IS CALLING, 2013 | acquired through the generosity of Barbara Lee/The Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women, Fotene Demoulas and Tom Coté, Hilary and Geoffrey Grove, Vivien and Alan Hassenfeld, Jodi and Hal Hess, Barbara H. Lloyd, and an anonymous donor | photos by Mel Taing, unless stated otherwise, all © YAYOI KUSAMA, courtesy David Zwirner, New York; Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London/Venice

Yayoi Kusama Spreads love through sculpture and poetry

Yayoi Kusama’s LOVE IS CALLING at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami ushers the visitors into a darkened, mirrored room illuminated only by the inflatable structures of tentacles. They extend from the floor and ceiling, gradually shifting their hues as time progresses.

Visitors walk through the installation while basking in the voice of Kusama reciting a love poem in Japanese. The tranquil reading style of Kusama escorts the visitors around the dark space in a continuous loop, bristling against the whimsical feeling the glowing tentacles evoke.

mirrored rooms around the space | photo by Ernie Galan

Kusama wrote the poem herself for LOVE IS CALLING. Its title translates to Residing in a Castle of Shed Tears, as if an allusion to the artist’s vision of the tentacles as an island of tears. It dives into the themes of life and death, a poem that poignantly expresses Kusama’s hope to spread a universal message of love through her art.

An icon of contemporary art, Kusama  has interwoven ideas of Pop art, Minimalism, and psychedelia throughout her paintings, performances, room-size presentations, outdoor sculptural installations, literary works, films, designs, and architectural interventions.

the tentacles hang from the ceiling and rise from the floor | photo by Mel Taing

The first Kusama exhibition at PAMM

This is the first time that the Japanese artist has exhibited at PAMM. As Miami’s flagship art museum, PAMM is committed to showcasing 20th and 21st-century international modern and contemporary art. By presenting LOVE IS CALLING, the museum honors its mission of creating genuine human interaction, communication, and exchange for Miami’s diverse audiences through art.

‘We are honored to offer this experience to our audience as Kusama is an iconic artist with an important career trajectory. She has been creating works that are lively, thoughtful, and introspective, which have been enjoyed by viewers for over six decades and will certainly be enjoyed by our Miami audience,’ says PAMM Associate Curator Jennifer Inacio.

this is the first time Yayoi Kusama has exhibited at PAMM | photo by Ernie Galan