In Washington, DC, Yayoi Kusama and Veuve Clicquot are in full bloom

It was 2006 when Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama first partnered with French champagne house Veuve Clicquot. The project was titled Twist with Madame Clicquot!, and saw Kusama adorn an original portrait of Madame Clicquot with her iconic polka dots. 

In 2020, Kusama was called upon to interpret Veuve Clicquot’s premium cuvée, La Grande Dame, which involved an energetic bottle and case design accompanied by My Heart that Blooms in the Darkness of the Night, a limited-edition sculpture featuring flowers, polka dots (naturally) and a message of hope. 

Now, Kusama and La Grande Dame are manifesting in a series of events across Washington, DC, where her work will be woven throughout the city in a springtime celebration of culture, just in time for peak cherry blossom season.

The events centre on the major exhibition, ‘One With Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection’ at The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (until 27 November 2022). The museum will present its permanent collection of Kusama’s works, which it has been acquiring since 1996. The collection includes two of her mesmerising Infinity Mirror Rooms as well as sculptures, paintings and photographs of the artist. The works span from her early creations, such as Flowers – Overcoat (1964), up to her more recent works, including Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field (Floor Show) (2017). The exhibition will also debut one of Kusama’s latest rooms to Washington, DC, audiences.

Elsewhere, Kusama has adorned The Park at the CityCenter with a display of her signature polka dots, alongside My Heart that Blooms in the Darkness of the Night, marking the sculpture’s first display in the US. The appearance of Kusama’s bold sculpture for Veuve Clicquot, staged in dialogue with the explosive scape of DC’s cherry blossom trees, is perfectly timed for a stroll during the National Cherry Blossom Festival: Art in Bloom (until 17 April 2022).

INFORMATION

‘One With Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection’, until 27 November 2022, The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. hirshhorn.si.edu

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