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

10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Tickets Through June 30 Available Now

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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A large pumpkin sculpture covered in yellow mosaic tiles with red mosaic polka dots. Its stem is covered in red mosaic tiles with small yellow mosaic polka dots. The sculpture is nestled into a bed of low-lying flowers and plants, with small trees and vines rising up just behind it.

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 sweetpeas 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 (ca. 1966), a multiscreen digital projection of a performance work from the artist’s collection.

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.

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).

Infinity Mirrored Room–Illusion Inside the Heart

Coming Soon: A Brand-New Infinity Mirrored Room Experience

With interior access planned to begin this summer, Kusama’s new Infinity Mirrored Room will operate per New York State and City guidelines for social distancing and visitor safety. The installation, Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart (2020), responds to natural light through colored glass throughout the day and seasons.

Reflecting the seasonality of NYBG’s landscape, the exterior will be on view with the opening of the exhibition.

A separate timed-entry Infinity Mirrored Room ticket will be required for interior access; more information will be provided as it becomes available.

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

Enjoy KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature as a Member

Benefits include exclusive free KUSAMA Garden & Gallery Pass and KUSAMA Garden Pass tickets, an exclusive Members-Only Preview Day on April 9, and more. Join Now.

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

Above: I Want to Fly to the Universe (2020), The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on aluminum. 157 3/8 x 169 3/8 x 140 1/8 in. (400 x 430 x 356 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner.

Starry Pumpkin (2015), The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic, tiles, and resin. Collection of the artist.

Dancing Pumpkin (2020), The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on bronze. 196 7/8 x 116 7/8 x 117 ¼ in. (500 x 296.9 x 297.8 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner.

Infinity Mirrored Room–Illusion Inside the Heart (2017), The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Mirror-polished stainless steel, glass mirrors, colored glass. Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; David Zwirner, New York; Victoria Miro, London. Photo: OWL corp.

My Soul Blooms Forever (2019), The New York Botanical Garden, 2021. Urethane paint on stainless steel. Installation dimensions variable. Collection of the artist. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner.