Three years after the very successful exhibition of the 96-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at the Tel Aviv Museum, a mirror room she created will be on permanent display starting in June.
The mirror room is titled “The Infinite Eternal Light of the Universe Illuminates the Search for Truth” and was created by Kusama in 2020.
Kusama is a highly experienced artist who began creating art in the 1950s while still in Japan. In the 1960s, she moved to New York and became part of the local art scene. The aesthetic of Kusama’s work is closely linked to the mental illness she has battled since childhood.
For her, art is largely a form of coping and therapy. Her studio, where she produces her unique and one-of-a-kind works, is located just across the street from the psychiatric institution in Tokyo where she lives.
Every morning, she goes to her studio to create, and at the end of the day, she returns to the care facility where she has lived for decades.
Who is Yayoi Kusama?
In the 21st century, Kusama has become an international symbol of modern art, with her mirror rooms becoming iconic. The comprehensive exhibition presented by the Tel Aviv Museum in 2021-2022 became a cultural phenomenon, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Due to expected high demand, the museum has set strict conditions for visiting the mirror room. Entry, which requires prior registration on the museum’s website, will initially be available only on Thursday evenings before expanding to all visiting hours.
Even then, access will be limited: only one or two people may enter the room at a time, and visits are restricted to 60 seconds each.