New York hosts Yayoi Kusama’s socially distanced pumpkins and polka dots in the Botanical Garden’s 100 hectares
- Trees wrapped in polka dots, the debut of a five-metre bronze Dancing Pumpkin, and flower displays that complement her art – there’s a lot for fans to see
- The show, ‘Kusama: Cosmic Nature’, which runs until the end of October, was postponed for a year because of the coronavirus
An expansive show featuring works by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, famous for her mesmerising polka dots, speckled pumpkins and fascination with the natural world, has opened at The New York Botanical Garden. Ticket sales have been brisk in a pandemic-weary city hungry for more outdoor cultural events.
“Kusama: Cosmic Nature”, postponed for a year due to the coronavirus, will run until Halloween.
Most of the artworks are outdoors and are big enough to enjoy while remaining socially distanced. Visitors will want to wear their walking shoes; the show features multiple galleries, installations and gardens. Elaborate flower displays complement some of the works, which are scattered over the 250-acre (101-hectare) botanical garden in the Bronx.
The setting could not be more suitable for Kusama’s multifaceted works, all of which relate to the world of nature. Having grown up in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s enormous seed nursery in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama has always focused her work on the natural world, says guest curator Mika Yoshitake.
“For Kusama, cosmic nature is a life force that integrates the terrestrial and celestial orders of the universe from both the micro- and macrocosmic perspectives,” Yoshitake says.