In infinity: Yayoi Kusama’s dots take over the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, near Copenhagen, Denmark, is hosting the first large-scale exhibition of Kusama’s work in Scandinavia. 'In Infinity' is a true retrospective of the artist’s life, traversing her early watercolours to her psychedelic work in the 1960s, political commentaries from the 1970s and her later, Toyko-based pieces from the 1980s. A sprinkling of design and fashion – most notably collaborations with Louis Vuitton and Issey Miyake – make an appearance also.

‘The poster girls for the globalisation of contemporary art’, ‘the polka-dot princess’, one of the world’s most famous female artists; call Yayoi Kusama what you will, there's no denying her omnipotence. Celebrating her achievements and talents, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, near Copenhagen, Denmark, is hosting the first large-scale exhibition of Kusama’s work in Scandinavia.
'In Infinity' is a true retrospective of the artist’s life, traversing her early watercolours to her psychedelic work in the 1960s, political commentaries from the 1970s and her later, Toyko-based pieces from the 1980s. A sprinkling of design and fashion – most notably collaborations with Louis Vuitton and Issey Miyake – make an appearance also. ‘The exhibition traces Kusama's lifelong interest in the concept of Infinity,’ explains curator Marie Laurberg, ‘which in her work figures both as a spiritual idea, a boundless universe and a psychological abyss.’
While Kusama’s early, avant-garde work in New York may be what shot her to fame, it is not the sole focus of this presentation. ‘The exhibition holds many works from the early period which were rarely if ever exhibited before,’ explains Laurberg. ‘It also focuses on the change in Kusama's artistic practice when she returned to Japan in the early 1970s.’ (Kusama famously returned to Japan for medical treatment to find her art was not embraced by her countrymen. She has since then voluntarily lived in a mental institution, keeping a studio nearby which allows her to continue working. Age has done nothing to slow down the octogenarian artist.) ‘Many of these works from her Tokyo period were never shown outside of Japan before,’ says Laurberg.
Most recent of all are the paints of the ongoing series My Eternal Soul, which Kusama started in 2009. ‘[It is] almost like a visual diary,’ says Laurberg. ‘These colourful paintings are composed horizontally, moving around the canvas in an associative, unbroken creative process, and in them you can trace many shapes and motives by which Kusama reconnects with her very earliest drawings.’
While there is no doubt that her immersive installations of endless dots, nets and mirrored spaces are a huge draw (they have previously drawn record-breaking crowds to exhibitions around the world, including London’s Tate, New York’s MoMA and Moscow’s Garage, to name a few) it is the astounding life this woman continues to lead that will inspire visitors to linger.
Infinity is a concept Kusama has explored for decades; it's one of perpetual fascination, ‘which in her work figures both as a spiritual idea, a boundless universe and a psychological abyss,’ explains curator Marie Laurberg. Courtesy of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Whilst she is most famous for her early avant-garde practice in New York, the exhibition contains a range of works from her iconic career, much of which is unseen. Pictured: Kusama in the Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli's Field, New York, 1965.
Despite being well into her eighties, the eccentric artist shows no hint of slowing down – she still produces work from the mental institution where she voluntarily stays. Pictured: interior shot of Mirror Room (Pumpkin), 1991.
External shot of the Mirror Room (Pumpkin), 1991.
INFORMATION
‘Yayoi Kusama: In Infinity’ is on show until 24 January 2016
ADDRESS
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Gammel Strandvej 13
DK 3050, Humlebæk
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
A 432 Park Avenue apartment is an art-filled family home among the clouds
At 432 Park Avenue, inside and outside compete for starring roles; welcome to a skyscraping, art-filled apartment in Midtown Manhattan
-
Kitchen Trends 2026: luminosity, colour, and unexpected materiality
These are kitchen trends shaping interior design in 2026, from collaborative kitchens to warm luminosity
-
A gallery in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales showcases work inspired by nature
Thorns Gallery opens in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, with founders Jonathan Reed and Graeme Black aiming to showcase artworks inspired by the natural world
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene
'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week
This week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom