The last time the Hirshhorn Museum put up a survey of Yayoi Kusama’s work, back in 2017, DC Instagram accounts exploded with images of the Japanese artist’s whimsical polka-dotted sculptures and trippy mirrored rooms. Demand to get in was so intense that the museum issued timed-entry passes, and clocked its highest number of springtime visitors since opening in 1974.
Get ready for a repeat: the Hirshhorn is planning another Kusama event for spring 2022, featuring works held in the museum’s permanent collection. And the Hirshhorn just announced that it’s acquired yet another Kusama piece to be included in the exhibit: An installation named “Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart Is Dancing into the Universe” that promises a psychedelic, immersive experience.
The piece features Kusama’s signature mirrors on all six sides of a room, reflecting various colors and the artist’s trademark polka-dots to give the illusion of endless space.
The Hirshhorn acquired it jointly with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. The Albright-Knox will show the work in 2023.
Kusama, now 92, began making her “Infinity Mirrored Rooms” in 1965 and has since drawn record-breaking crowds to exhibitions all over the United States. The Hirshhorn has yet to release an official opening date for its 2022 Kusama exhibit, but there’s no doubt that once it arrives, it’ll be impossible to miss on your social feeds.
