The Yayoi Kusama Museum - photo by Masahiro Tsuchido ©YAYOI KUSAMA

Yayoi Kusama gets her own museum

Tokyo structure that began taking shape in 2014 is at last revealed to be a shrine to the octogenarian's work

Yayoi Kusama fans are in for a treat when a museum dedicated to the life long work of the Japanese artist opens in the next couple of months. The five-storey Yayoi Kusama museum will open on 1 October in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, according to the official website for the new institution, which has revealed details of the opening show, Creation is a Solitary Pursuit, Love is What Brings You Closer to Art.

 

Yayoi Kusama (Photo: courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, David Zwirner, New York, and KUSAMA Enterprise; © Yayoi Kusama)
Yayoi Kusama (Photo: courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, David Zwirner, New York, and KUSAMA Enterprise; © Yayoi Kusama)

The blog, Spoon & Tamago reports that Kusama’s works will be displayed in exhibition spaces on floors two and three while her larger-scale installations will be shown on the fourth level. Apparently very little was known about the tall white structure when it was originally completed in 2014 by Kume Sekkei and residents and tourists alike speculated about its use. Some thought it might be Kusama’s residence others reasoned it would turn out to be a private gallery for her work.

One thing's for sure: visitors will be able to retreat to an archive and reading room on the fifth floor where we guess after spending some time there they'll be potentially seeing even more spots before their eyes. 

For all good insight both visual and literary check out our forthcoming revised and fully updated Yayoi Kusama monograph here.