Yayoi Kusama Retrospective Opens at Fondation Beyeler in Basel

A major Yayoi Kusama retrospective has opened at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, the first of three exhibitions that will also travel to the Museum Ludwig in Cologne and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Curated by Leontine Coelewij, Stephan Diederich, and Mouna Mekouar, the show features over 300 works and archival materials spanning the artist's career from her childhood drawings in Matsumoto to her New York avant-garde period and her return to Japan. Some works were created specifically for this exhibition cycle, including an infinity mirror room, while 130 pieces are shown in Europe for the first time. The exhibition traces Kusama's life against the backdrop of 20th-century Japanese history, including the atomic bomb and postwar reconstruction. It includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, performances, collages, fashion, literature, and film. A catalog published by Hatje Cantz, designed by Teo Schifferli, includes texts by Emanuele Coccia and Stefano Mancuso. Kusama's studio actively participated in organizing the show, with loans coming from Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, France, and Switzerland. Kusama, born in 1929, was supported by Lucio Fontana, who financed her silver spheres presented at the 1966 Venice Biennale.