Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Rooms: How to get tickets and what to know about the Tate Modern exhibition

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Lizzie Thomson5 March 2020

The Tate Modern celebrates its 20th birthday this year and to mark the occasion, is hosting exhibitions, installations and events – including something very special from Yayoi Kusama.

The gallery will be opening two rooms created by the Japanese artist, both designed to highlight Kusama’s obsession with reflection.

The first, Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life, is one of Kusama’s largest installations to date and was made for her 2012 retrospective at the gallery. The second, Chandelier of Grief, is a room which creates the illusion of infinity with the help of rotating, crystal chandeliers.

The Tate will also be presenting a small selection of photographs – some of which will be on display for the first time – to provide context for Kusama’s world-famous mirror rooms.

When is the exhibition running?

The good news is that there’s no need to rush, as the show will be running for a whole year. It launches on May 11 and will be open until May 9 2021.

Yayoi Kusama, Chandelier of Grief, 2016 (Courtesy Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro)
(Courtesy Ota Fine Arts and Victoria Miro)

How get tickets

General admission tickets are now available to buy for £5 on the Tate website. A date and time for attending will need to be selected at the checkout.

Yayoi Kusama's early career

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Kusama trained at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts in a traditional Japanese painting style called "nihonga", but moved to New York in 1958.

Kusama shot to fame in the 1960s when she organised a series of artistic “happenings” in which naked participants were painted with brightly coloured polka dots — a print which is now known as her hallmark.

Since then, she’s gained a reputation for her installations and autobiographical conceptual art, which often carries themes of feminism, minimalism and surrealism.

Yayoi Kusama, Victoria Miro (October 3 - December 21 2018)

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The artist's most famous works

Kusuma is best-known for her sculpture and installations, but she also works across other artistic mediums, including painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry and fiction.

During the 1960s, Kusama attracted a following for her Accumulations series, which saw everyday objects, such as furniture, boats and clothing, covered with hand-sewn phallic-shaped growths. It’s thought that her early sculptures were influenced by the rising pop art movement, which also incorporated everyday household items.

In 1965, she launched her first immersive environment, a 25-square-metre mirrored room with a thick carpet of soft, twisting polka-dot phalluses, which she named Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field (Floor Show).

It’s not just polka dots that Kusama seems to be passionate about — she also loves pumpkins. Her 2018 show at the Victoria Miro brought these two loves together, with exhibits such as a pumpkin infinity room and large bronze painted pumpkins.

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Rooms will run from May 11 2020 - May 9 2021 at Tate Modern, tate.org.uk

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