Click bait: Yayoi Kusama unveils a social media-friendly exhibition in New York

As social media becomes more prevalent – and unavoidable – than ever, galleries and museums that once prohibited visitors from taking photographs are now encouraging them.
Perhaps no artist is more at home on social media than Yayoi Kusama. From her awe-inspiring Infinity Mirrors to fire-engine-red polka dots, the Japanese artist’s 70-plus-year career is filled with works that inspire, empower and, yes, are popular on Instagram.
Infinity-Nets [PQBME], by Yayoi Kusama, 2017.
Kusama’s current exhibition at New York gallery David Zwirner, ‘Yayoi Kusama: Festival of Life’, encourages the viewer to experience Kusama’s works in real time – and for years to come on your feed.
‘[Her work] draws crowds of all ages [and] is a major phenomenon on social media,’ explains Lucas Zwirner, editorial director at David Zwirner. Kusama is now so popular on social media that David Zwirner is including hashtags and handles with the exhibition title for the first time.
Selfies will inevitably abound at the Chelsea gallery, which features both new and recent works. In one room, 66 paintings from Kusama’s My Eternal Soul series surround three new stainless steel sculptures. The exhibition marks the first time With All My Love For The Tulips, I Pray Forever (2011) – a full-room installation covered in Kusama’s signature spots – has been shown in the United States.
Dwelling of Love, by Yayoi Kusama, 2016.
Kusama’s two new Infinity Mirror Rooms are definite crowd-pleasers. One uses peepholes, mirrors and lights to emulate a kaleidoscope, while the other is covered in mirrors. ‘Her Infinity Rooms are some of the most Instagrammed artworks in the world,’ says Zwirner. ‘Kusama loves mirrors, and [once] said as long as mirrors give her infinity, she will continue to create mirrored artworks. The Infinity Mirror Rooms reflect the celebration of life and its aftermath.’
Once you’re done, head to David Zwirner’s uptown location, where 10 new Kusama paintings are on display.
Infinity Mirrored Room – Love Forever, by Yayoi Kusama, 1966/1994. Le Consortium, Dijon, France, 2000. © Yayoi Kusama.Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York; Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; Yayoi Kusama Inc
With All My Love for The Tulips, I Pray Forever, by Yayoi Kusama, 2012. Eternity of Eternal Eternity, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan, 2012.
Infinity Mirrored Room – Let's Survive Forever, by Yayoi Kusama, 2017. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York; Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; Yayoi Kusama Inc
INFORMATION
’Yayoi Kusama: Festival of Life’ is on view until 16 December. For more information, visit the David Zwirner website and the Yayoi Kusama website
ADDRESS
David Zwirner Gallery
525 and 533 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining
-
Nordic Knots and Eagle + Hodges’ new rug collection is inspired by the English garden
The Scandinavian rug company and the British property development duo have collaborated to create a collection that reinterprets the English garden in a way that doesn’t rely on delicate florals
-
Studio Urquiola’s immersive Kvadrat textile forest is inspired by the Nordic landscape
During Chart 2025, Studio Urquiola and Danish designers Tableau team up to present a textile installation showcasing Kvadrat’s nature-inspired new collection
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in Texas
The artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
Another week, another flurry of events, opening and excursions showcasing the best of culture and entertainment at home and abroad. Catch our editors at Scandi festivals, iconic jazz clubs, and running the length of Manhattan…
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San Francisco
The artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?
The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profits
The Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick Collection
The actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
'What does it mean that the language of photography is invented by men?' Justine Kurland explores the feminist potential of collage
'The Rose,' at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) in Kingston, New York, examines the work of over 50 artists using collage as a feminist practice
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raising
At Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture