Of dots and dreams

JAPANESE ARTIST Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective “A Dream I Dreamed” is now on display at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, highlighting an array of her eclectic pieces over the last 60 years.

The exhibition, which opened on February 7, features around 120 iconic artworks in six categories, with several new pieces created especially for the event.

A self-proclaimed “obsessive” artist, the 85-year-old is renowned for her ever-present polka-dot motifs and pumpkin sculptures as well as a passion for colour and willingness to employ less-conventional artistic techniques. Her works in surrealism, abstract expressionism, minimalism and pop art grace the collections of nearly 100 museums around the world.

One of the highlights at the retrospective is the brand new work “Dots Obsession, 2015” comprising dotted balloons hanging from the ceiling, resting on the floor and suspended in various positions. The installation challenges the viewer to lose themselves in Kusama’s world of expansive hallucinations.

Another featured installation, “Infinity Mirrored Room Brilliance of the Souls,” was created last year and echoes “Love Forever,” a Kusama debut piece from 1966. Ceilings and walls covered with mirrors produce a feeling of endless reflections and limitless space.

But the biggest draw will likely be the ongoing painting series “My Eternal Soul.” First exhibited in London four years ago, the works boast extravagant colours and biomorphic patterns representing the cycle of life, death and birth.

This is not the first time Kusama has exhibited in Taiwan. In 2013 she captured the imagination of locals with her installation “Footprints of Life” at the Taoyuan Land Art Festival. A pond filled with black-spotted pink snails symbolised the energy of life and harmony between art and the environment.

 

SEEING SPOTS

“A Dream I Dreamed” runs through May 17 at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. It then moves to National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung City, where it opens on June 6.