HOUSTON, TX.- This summer, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is presenting two dazzling, immersive environments by contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. On view from June 12 to September 18, 2016, the exhibition Kusama: At the End of the Universe brings to Houston two of the artist’s signature infinity rooms—Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity (2009) and Love Is Calling (2013)—the first time this vital aspect of Kusama’s work is being seen in Texas.

Kusama, recently named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People,” has worked in an expansive array of media since the 1950s, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance art, and design. Her infinity rooms—environments lined with mirrors that confound viewers' perception of spatial limits—are among her most beloved works, and are the focus of the present exhibition. Kusama: At the End of the Universe also reflects the two complementary aspects of Kusama's career. Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, newly acquired by the MFAH, reflects the artist's fascination with the intangible, while Love Is Calling demonstrates Kusama's engagement with our physical environment. The exhibition is further supplemented by one of Kusama’s monumental yellow and black polka-dotted fiberglass pumpkins, which will welcome visitors at the entrance to the gallery.

“We’re especially thrilled to welcome Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity to its permanent home so swiftly following its acquisition this spring,” said director Gary Tinterow. “This exhibition will offer visitors to the Museum this summer a chance to experience its magic for the first time, in contemplative counterpoint to the exuberance of Kusama’s Love Is Calling.”

“This exhibition celebrates the brilliance of Yayoi Kusama, who has pioneered one of the most remarkable artistic careers of the past century,” commented Alison de Lima Greene, Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “Dazzling and transcendent, Kusama: At the End of the Universe ushers us into the artist's extraordinary cosmos.”

Aftermath of Obliteration of Infinity (2009) is an intimate space illuminated by an array of golden lights that ignite and then fade into darkness. Viewers enter and stand in the center of the room, finding themselves enveloped by a seemingly infinite horizon and then confronted by an equally infinite void. Love Is Calling (2013) greets viewers who pass through the room with glowing, tentacle-like forms that shoot up from the floor and hang down from the ceiling. Covered in the artist’s signature polka dots, these soft sculptures constantly change color. Further amplifying the experience is a sound recording of Kusama’s voice as she recites a love poem in Japanese, which echoes through the installation.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, and coming of age during the devastation of World War II, Yayoi Kusama began her formal training in traditional Japanese-style painting (nihonga) at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts in 1948. Feeling constrained by the conservatism of mainstream art in Japan, she departed for New York City in 1957, where she became amongst the foremost innovators of her generation. Often associated by critics with both Pop and Minimalist currents in the 1960s, she broke down boundaries between traditional studio practices, performance, and installation art through her radical command of space and her direct engagement with her audiences. Kusama returned to Japan in 1973. While choosing to live in seclusion, Kusama maintains her studio in Tokyo, where she continues to write and make art.