Yayoi Kusama at Moderna Museet in Stockholm

Outside the entrance to Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Photo: Frida Berntson

The Exhibition In Infinity with artist Yayoi Kusama has been touring Scandinavian modern art museums for a year or two, so I was very happy to be able to travel to Stockholm and experience it at Moderna Museet last week. Before coming to the museum I didn't know how multifaceted and broad Kusama's artistry is; coming from post-war Japan and working in New York in the 1960's with other famous artists to still being active today creating fascinating and challenging art. The exhibition was consistent and showed every period of Kusama's artistry, from her earliest work in gauche and silk in Japan to her bigger installations and sculptures from the 1980's and 90's. Paintings, footage from happenings in New York, fashion, sculptures, installations, pictures, letters, magazines, a movie and more was shown at the exhibition. This can seem very overwhelming for the viewer, I felt the contrary; finally an exhibition that shows the whole picture of an artist's work, life and context.

Artworks were even placed in the lobby. Photo: Frida Berntson

Introduction to the exhibition in the lobby. Photo: Frida Berntson

In Infinity is organized by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark in association with the bigger modern art museums in Scandinavia, it is curated by Louisiana. At Moderna Museet the exhibition consisted of three parts, an introduction in the lobby and then two different areas in the museum. This was mildly confusing as a viewer, but it was also kind of nice with a little break from the art and then going into the rest of the show. Kusama's art was shown in chronological order and the last part was a lot about her life and background.

The first room with recent paintings by Kusama. Photo: Frida Berntson

Detail of No. B White, 1959, oil on canvas. Photo: Frida Berntson

In the third room of the exhibition you start to recognize Kusama's famous polka dots in paintings, and one that stood out to me was the painting No. B White. The dotted pattern is textured by the oil paint in this painting and creates a lively energetic repetition; you can clearly see the impression from the flick of the brush. And with the painting being white the texture comes forward even more which makes this painting also about space. 

Inside the room and installation Infinity Mirror Room - Phalli's Field. Selfie: Frida Berntson

Going further into the exhibition you come across Kusama's interactive room installations, the exhibition had a few(!) and one of them was the Infinity Mirror Room - Phalli’s Field. You simply walk through a door and are consumed by art on all sides and with the help of mirrors an infinite landscape is created. This particular installation was a field of white little phallic shapes covered in red dots. I always appreciate when art is interactive and you can move around, feel and almost be the art. The infinity rooms are like that, and I don't think anyone comes out feeling nothing. I felt a mixture of being trapped and floating in an infinite landscape; a strange and wonderful feeling.

A look inside the installation Mirror Room (Pumpkin), 1991. Photo: Frida Berntson

The installation Dots Obsession, 2016. Photo: Frida Berntson

Photo from the Brooklyn Bridge Happening, 1968. Photo: Frida Berntson

Perhaps the most exciting room in the exhibition was the room that showed film clips and pictures from Kusama's art happenings in New York in the 1960's. The pictures were shown on slide projectors across the room, and you could sit down and watch them. The happenings were about sexual liberation and political protest and were held all across New York; on Wall Street, in Central Park and on the Brooklyn Bridge. People wore clothes designed by Kusama at the happenings and to protest against the establishment they sometimes removed the clothes. Kusama then proceeded with painting their bodies in dots and declaring herself the "Priestess of Polka Dots". The clothes Kusama designed was an important part of her art activism and a social commentary aimed at promoting gender equality and a more natural attitude to the naked body. While seeing the pictures and clips you quickly realize that an art happening like this wouldn't be allowed today, or the artist and participants would likely be carried away by police very quickly. It makes you think about how the establishment today treats public art and protests...

Orgy Dress, 2000, cotton fabric in the pattern Stars/YAYOI KUSAMA Furniture by graf: decorative mode no.3. Photo: Frida Berntson

In Infinity is probably the best curated exhibition I have ever had the pleasure to experience. So much useful information about Yayoi Kusama's life and art was provided to the viewer and it was easy to understand why every room was focused on a certain thing. There were few guards at the venue which made the experience relaxed and enjoyable. I also think the exhibition was great for all ages, small children as well as older visitors were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Kusama's art is such a wonderful thing as comprehensible, complex and difficult to understand at the same time.

To find out more about this exhibition visit Moderna Museet's webpage http://www.modernamuseet.se, the show goes on until September 11, 2016.

Narcissus Garden, 1966/2016, orbs in stainless steel. Photo: Frida Berntson