BASEL.- This autumn, the Fondation Beyeler presents the first solo exhibition in Switzerland dedicated to the work of Yayoi Kusama (*1929, lives and works in Tokyo), one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition, developed in close collaboration with the artist and her studio, brings together over 300 works from Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, France and Switzerland, underscoring the global resonance and enduring impact of Kusama’s artistic legacy.
Spanning over seven decades, the exhibition traces Kusama’s extraordinary journey from her earliest creative efforts in postwar Japan to her internationally celebrated status today. Beginning with rarely seen paintings and watercolours made in the early 1950s in her hometown of Matsumoto, the exhibition follows her bold transition to New York in the late 1950s, where she played a formative role in the avant-garde scenes of the 1960s and 1970s. Returning to Japan in the 1970s, Kusama continued to reinvent her artistic language in deeply personal and politically resonant ways. Today, she is arguably the most well- known living female artist and remains a force of remarkable innovation and relevance, creating new work with undiminished intensity.
Through more than 70 years of production, Kusama has consistently defied categorization. Her practice spans a rich array of media – painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, performance, collage, fashion, literature, and film – making her one of the most versatile and influential artists of our time. The exhibition foregrounds key periods of radical invention, offering a dynamic portrait of an artist who continues to reshape our understanding of art and experience.
Central to Kusama’s oeuvre is the concept of infinity – not merely as a formal device, but as a lived, spiritual, and psychological reality. Her hallmark motifs – polka dots, nets, mirrors, and repetitive forms – are more than aesthetic signatures; they reflect a profound meditation on the cycles of life and death, the dissolution of the self, and the desire for transcendence. From the hypnotic intricacy of her infinity net paintings to the immersive intensity of the Infinity Mirror Rooms especially produced for the exhibition, Kusama creates worlds that envelop the viewer in endless visual loops. These recursive environments disrupt the boundaries between interior and exterior, body and space, self and cosmos. Through repetition, Kusama evokes the rhythmic pulse of existence.
Her works are not simply to be observed – they are to be experienced. Her mirrored installations and expansive environments pull viewers into perceptual and emotional states of suspension and immersion. In doing so, Kusama transforms personal struggle into shared sensation. Her art becomes a space of connection, where repetition offers both confrontation and comfort, vulnerability and power.
This landmark exhibition will feature a wide range of iconic pieces, including over 130 works that have never been shown in Europe, alongside new works produced specifically for this occasion. Among the highlights are her mesmerising early works, the iconic infinity nets and the accumulation sculptures, Narcissus Garden, 1966/2025, and Infinity Mirrored Room – Illusion Inside the Heart, 2025. “Yayoi Kusama” will also feature a brand-new Infinity Mirror Room and immersive environment created especially for the exhibition. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to experience the full scope of Kusama’s vision – from intimate early drawings to monumental environments – unfolding across the galleries of the Fondation Beyeler. Taking over 10 galleries and the garden, her mesmerising installations will transform not only the museum interiors and architecture but also the adjacent park. Visitors can expect an immersive experience
as Kusama’s iconic Infinity Mirror Rooms and vibrant sculptures extend beyond traditional gallery walls, creating a seamless flow of art that engages the museum environment and surrounding landscape in a captivating dialogue of colour, light, and form.
The exhibition offers a multilayered encounter with an artist whose work continues to challenge perception, provoke thought, and awaken feeling. It is a celebration of Kusama’s boundless imagination and an invitation to reflect on the infinite within ourselves.
A richly illustrated exhibition catalogue, edited by Leontine Coelewij, Stephan Diederich, and Mouna Mekouar, and designed by Teo Schifferli, is published by Hatje Cantz Verlag, Berlin. Conceived not just about the artist, but with the artist and her studio, the publication features new texts from different fields such as astrophysics, biology, fashion, computer science, and sociology by Emanuele Coccia, Katie Mack, Stefano Mancuso, Ralph McCarthy, SooJin Lee, Agata Soccini, and Helen Westgeest, archival materials, and contributions from Kusama herself. Through her own words, the book will offer deeper insight into the world as Kusama sees it.
