Yayoi Kusama’s Dot-Filled Exhibit at David Zwirner Closes Saturday

Yayoi Kusama’s Dot-Filled Exhibit at David Zwirner Closes Saturday


Dot fiends best get in gear, there are still a few white spaces that need filling in Yayoi Kusama’s The obliteration room. The extremely popular installation, which is one component of the exhibit Give Me Love, closes at David Zwirner on Saturday, June 13.

For those unfamiliar with the installation, it was originally conceived as an interactive children’s project for the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in 2002. It has since travelled the world, with its last stop being the Queensland Art Gallery in Australia earlier this year. The artist’s concept is obliteration by dots. For the work, Kusama creates a domestic environment and paints it completely white. People are then given sheets of colorful dot stickers of varying sizes and allowed to go crazy. They can sticker where ever and what ever they want. The end goal is to ‘obliterate’ everything in the room and thus transform it into a glorious brightly colored mess. For this edition, which marks the installation’s first appearance in the US, Kusama has simulated a prefab house adorned with an American Flag. Wait times to enter can range from 45 minutes to 2 hours, so early arrival is suggested. Each person is asked to only remain in the dwelling for 3 minutes.

Give Me Love, which also includes beautiful new paintings from her My Eternal Soul series and new polka-dotted pumpkin sculptures, is the elder artist’s second show at the gallery. Kusama joined David Zwirner in 2013 and I Who Have Arrived In Heaven opened later that year. It featured large-scale paintings alongside a video installation and two mirrored infinity rooms.

We paid Give Me Love a couple of visits, first on May 9 and then again on June 9. See below for the photos we took.

(Yayoi Kusama’s Give Me Love is on view at David Zwirner Gallery, 519 and 525 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011, through Saturday, June 13. Hours are 10am-6pm)

 

 

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