Art Spotlight: Yayoi Kusama Museum

Named the “World’s Most Popular Artist” in 2015, Yayoi Kusama may not be a household name but you’ve almost certainly seen photos from her immersive infinity-mirrored rooms. Maybe you’ve even visited her installation, “Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” which has been on view at the Broad Museum in LA for the last two years. Now the popular artist is creating a new way for her memorable work to be viewed with the creation of her own museum in Tokyo, appropriately named the Yayoi Kusama Museum, opening to the public October 1.

The building, designed by Japanese architecture and design firm Kume Sekkei, was completed in 2014, but its purpose was not divulged until the recent announcement that it would house Kusama’s eponymous museum. The structure—five stories high with a sleek, white exterior and walls of windows—will have an entire floor dedicated to Kusama’s infinity-room sculptures, as well as space for rotating exhibitions and a reading room.

The museum’s inaugural show, “Creation Is a Solitary Pursuit, Love Is What Brings You Closer to Art” runs from October 1 to February 25 of next year. It’s already a hot ticket: The month of October sold out immediately, and tickets for November go on sale September 1, giving us one more reason to get a trip to Japan on our must-do list.

If you can’t make it all the way to Japan to visit the Yayoi Kusama Museum, fear not: The artist’s blockbuster exhibition “Infinity Mirrors,” comprising six of her infinity rooms, is touring North America. Currently wrapping up its run at Seattle Art Museum, it will land at the Broad Museum this October, where it will remain until January 2018. From there, the exhibition is heading to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Check out some photos of the "Infinity Mirrors" exhibit below.