Visitors to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden can expect to start seeing dots this spring thanks to the April 4 opening of "One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection," a must-see tribute to the life and art of Yayoi Kusama. Undoubtedly the most famous artist right now—and the only art-world figure, arguably, to achieve full-on meme status—Kusama is known for covering her work in skeins of polka dots. But she's especially famous for her Instagrammable "Infinity Rooms": Mirrored environments whose darkened interiors are filled with lights that appear to plunge viewers into star-filled voids that stretch on forever. Thanks to their trippy appeal, Kusama's creations have attracted legions of followers, many of whom will undoubtedly make the pilgrimage to the Nation's Capital to see this show.
Photograph: Eikoh Hosoe, Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, David Zwirner, © YAYOI KUSAMA
Drawn entirely from the Hirshhorn's collection, "One with Eternity" will feature paintings, sculptures and installations that span the artist’s entire oeuvre, a career which more or less began in childhood. Her story has become legendary: As a child in Japan, she experienced ongoing hallucinations in which flashes of light, auras and dense and endless patterns of dots would swarm her field of vision, blotting out her perception of reality and, with it, her sense of being. These visions became the basis of her art, which initially came to fruition in New York City, where she arrived in 1957 and remained for the next 20 years. She quickly became a familiar fixture of NYC's Downtown art scene and it was there in 1965 that she created the first of her signature installations: Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field (Floor Show), which is one of the centerpieces of "One with Eternity."
Photograph: Cathy Carver, Courtesy Ota Fine Arts © YAYOI KUSAMA
But that’s only one piece in an exhibit that’s sure to amaze. So, whether you're a newbie or a die-hard Kusama fan, you won't want to miss this show. And while you're in D.C., be sure to check out our recommendations for the city’s best things to do, including landmark attractions, restaurants, tours and more.