Image series 23 / 2026: Yayoi Kusama’s Visual World
Art as a Survival Strategy
25 May 2026
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By: Bettina Pfleging
Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist, is one of the best-known artists of our time, famed above all for her iconic polka dots, her pumpkin sculptures and her mirrored Infinity Rooms. For Kusama, her art is a necessity of life; each of her works is also an exploration of her own self. At the heart of her work lie nature in its constant flux, becoming and passing away, as well as the infinity of the universe, into which ultimately all that exists dissolves.
Featuring over 300 works, from her first drawing dating from around 1934 to the present day and spanning a wide range of artistic media including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, fashion, performance and literature, the exhibition demonstrates how consistently Yayoi Kusama has been developing her own visual universe over the decades.
„Yayoi Kusama“
14 March until 2 August 2026, Museum Ludwig, Köln
Yayoi Kusama. Untitled, Ausschnitt, 1939, 25 × 22,5 cm, Stavelot; Imago, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte
Yayoi Kusama. Self-Obliteration by Dots. Performance, Ausschnitt, Détail, 1968; Iconothèque, Université de Genève, Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie
Yayoi Kusama. Petalo, Japanischer Pavillon, 1986, gemischtes Material, 90 × 90 cm; ConedaKOR Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut
Yayoi Kusama. Il Fondo del Mare, Japanischer Pavillon, 1992, unterschiedliche Materialien, 70 × 61 × 20 cm; ConedaKOR Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut
Yayoi Kusama. Stanza degli specchi (Zucca), Japanischer Pavillon, Ausschnitt, 1991, gemischtes Material, Tokio; ConedaKOR Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut
Yayoi Kusama. My Bleeding Heart, Ausschnitt, 1994, Sewn stuffed fabric, wood, paint, fluorescent light, 145 × 81,5 × 27 cm; Bildarchiv, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden
Yayoi Kusama. Pumpkin, Ausschnitt, 1994, Plastic, polyurethane paint, 200 × 250 × 250 cm, Kagawa; Bildarchiv, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden
Yayoi Kusama. Accumulation, Soft Sculptures, Ausschnitt, 2026, Köln; Upload-Datenbank, prometheus – Das verteilte digitale Bildarchiv für Forschung & Lehre
