Yayoi Kusama

In 2026, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne is dedicating a major exhibition to the legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to mark its 50th anniversary.

Kusama (*1929, Matsumoto) is one of the best-known artists of our time. Her iconic polka dots, her pumpkin sculptures and her mirrored Infinity Rooms have become a kind of trademark and appear millions of times on social media. The exhibition takes visitors on an exciting journey through Kusama's entire oeuvre with over 300 works, from the first drawing from around 1934 to the present day, and through a variety of artistic media such as painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, fashion, performance and literature.

In addition to the entire temporary exhibition space of the Museum Ludwig, the large-scale exhibition will also occupy other areas of the building, such as the roof terrace with a view of the cathedral. A new immersive installation with an integrated Infinity Mirror Room, specially designed for the exhibition, will fill the museum's largest hall. In addition, early iconic works such as Kusama's first installation Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show , created in 1963, will also be on display.

Yayoi Kusama is organized by the Museum Ludwig in collaboration with the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel (12 October 2025 - 25 January 2026) and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (12 September 2026 - 17 January 2027).

The Cologne station of the exhibition will show a number of large installation works that are not part of the exhibition in Basel, such as Kusama's first installation Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show , created in 1963, the environment I'm Here but Nothing (2000 to the present), a living room bathed in black light with countless fluorescent glue dots and the imposing, brightly painted bronze flowers Flowers, which will be installed on the roof terrace of the Museum Ludwig.