A large tentacled red and blue statue with a yellow, sun-like face and white polka dots on its tentacles. A mix of trees can be seen in the background.

KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature

Name: Yayoi Kusama Cosmic Nature
Start: 2020-05-09T09:00
End: 2020-11-01T09:00
Location: New York Botanical Garden

Saturday, April 10 – Sunday, October 31, 2021

THE EXHIBITION IS NOW CLOSED

Experience Yayoi Kusama’s profound connection with nature

Contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is one of the most popular artists in the world, drawing millions to experience her immersive installations.

Exclusively at NYBG, Kusama reveals her lifelong fascination with the natural world, beginning with her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s seed nursery. Her artistic concepts of obliteration, infinity, and eternity are inspired by her intimate engagement with the colors, patterns, and life cycles of plants and flowers.

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Explore Kusama’s eternal love for plants

Spectacular installations feature Kusama’s multifaceted art, including monumental floral sculptures that transform NYBG’s 250-acre landmark landscape.

Across the grounds, discover installations that include the artist’s legendary Narcissus Garden (1966/2021) in the Native Plant Garden. Nearby, marvel at Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees (2002/2021), where soaring trees are adorned in vibrant red with white polka dots. The horticultural spectacle across the landscape changes throughout the seasons, with tulips and irises in spring, dahlias and sunflowers in summer, and pumpkins and chrysanthemums in fall.

In and around the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Kusama’s work comes to life through a seasonal progression of violas, salvias, zinnias, chrysanthemums, and other colorful annuals, while her plant-inspired, polka-dotted sculptures are nestled among meadow grasses, bellflowers, and water lilies, including Hymn of Life—Tulips (2007) in the Conservatory Courtyard Hardy Pool. Her mesmerizing Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity (2017) is on view in the Visitor Center Gallery.

In the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building, explore paintings, biomorphic collages, sculpture, and works on paper inspired by Kusama’s deep knowledge of nature, and in the adjacent Ross Gallery, enjoy Walking Piece (1966/2021), a multiscreen digital projection of a performance work from the artist’s collection.

Kusama's starry pumpkin with yellow and pink mosiac tiles, with white chrysthanthemums in the foreground

See new monumental and immersive works

New monumental sculptures Dancing Pumpkin (2020) and I Want to Fly to the Universe (2020) make their debut in the NYBG landscape. They join the artist’s first-ever obliteration greenhouse, Flower Obsession (2017/2021).

A massive pumpkin sculpture stylized as though it were dancing. Its body is orange with black polka dots, while its slightly twisted stem is black with orange polka dots. Its underside is solid black.

A Brand-New Infinity Mirrored Room Experience

Interior access now open

Kusama’s new immersive installation, Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart (2020), responds to varying natural light through colored glass throughout the day and seasons.

A separate ticket for interior access to Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart (2020) is required with the purchase of a KUSAMA Garden & Gallery Pass or KUSAMA Garden Pass ticket. Tickets are highly limited and expected to sell out. Up to four people can enter the Infinity Mirrored Room at once. At this time, you will only be admitted into the Infinity Mirrored Room with members of your own party. For the safety of the artwork, no bags or other items are allowed inside the Infinity Mirrored Room; outdoor storage will be provided to temporarily stow your belongings.

A man in a red T-shirt stands facing away from the camera, hands in his pockets, surrounded by reflected blue, red, green, and orange orbs of light

KUSAMA Culminates with Meticulously Trained Kiku

October 2–31

KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature is designed to change with the seasons, with a special spotlight on the beloved chrysanthemum, kiku, in Japanese. Don’t miss kiku displays in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, featuring Japanese chrysanthemums that have been expertly trained over the past 11 months into modern and ancient styles.

White and orange chrysthanthemums in dome and waterfall shapes.

Enjoy KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature as a Member

Benefits include exclusive free KUSAMA Garden & Gallery Pass and KUSAMA Garden Pass tickets, and more. Join Now.

At the Patron Level, enjoy the best of the exhibition with complimentary Infinity Mirrored Room tickets and special viewing opportunities.

Five colorful floral sculptures of varying colors and styles rise up from a reflecting pool surrounded by various palm trees in a domed glasshouse.

Kusama Credits

Above:

I Want to Fly to the Universe, 2020. The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on aluminum. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner.

Starry Pumpkin, 2015. The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic, tiles, and resin. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts

Dancing Pumpkin, 2020. The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on bronze. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner.

Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart, 2020. The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Mirror-polished stainless steel, glass mirrors, and colored glass. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

My Soul Blooms Forever, 2019. The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on stainless steel. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner. Photo by Robert Benson Photography

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