The exhibition has been aimed at revealing the coherence of Kusama's oeuvre over the years while at the same time highlighting the freshness and innovative nature of certain themes explored in her work.
Mirrored Years demonstrates the abiding force of Yayoi Kusama. The juxtaposition of renowned installations such as the 'Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli's Field' (1965) or 'Narcissus Garden' (1966) with recent mirror installations such as 'Fireflies on the Water' and 'Invisible Life' (2000) as well as new sculptures such as 'Soaring Spirits' (2008-2009) provides an interesting insight into a career spanning more than 40 years.
The museum is also showing Kusama's most recent work: an installation of 50 new paintings that she has been producing assiduously over the last three years.
Yayoi Kusama appeared on the international art scene in the 1960s with much panache, shortly after moving from Japan to New York. She established her name with her enormous 'Infinity Net' paintings and her gallery-filling installations, which ensconce the visitor in thousands of colourful little stuffed textile protrusions – often phallus-like. Kusama's fame also spread thanks to the succès de scandale surrounding her public happenings, which have included men and women performing naked in the streets of New York.
In 1962, Yayoi Kusama was the only female artist to take part in the widely acclaimed 'Nul' (Zero) international group exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. She has exhibited alongside
European artists including Lucio Fontana, Pol Bury, Otto Piene and Gunther Uecker, as well as with artists from the Dutch Nul group (closely aligned with the German Zero movement), such as Jan Schoonhoven and Henk Peeters. Yayoi Kusama was a regular exhibitor on the Dutch art scene in the 1960s and '70s.
In 1973, mental health problems prompted Kusama to return to Japan, where she continued to play a prominent role in the world of art. In the West she gradually disappeared from the radar until about a decade ago, when a new art public became acquainted with her work. Working across several disciplines, Kusama continues to develop an increasingly diverse, rich and multi-layered oeuvre. Her interest in sensory experiences and space-filling installations combined with her radical and obsessive
history has had a marked impact on a number of prominent trends in contemporary art.
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