NEW YORK – Visitors to the Yayoi Kusama retrospective currently on at The Whitney Museum of American Art are enjoying a special bonus. In the museum’s Lobby Gallery, there’s a special, additional Kusama exhibition titled ‘Fireflies on the Water.’
With its carefully constructed environment of lights, mirrors, and water, Kusama’s ‘Fireflies on the Water’ is one of the outstanding examples of this kind of installation, which creates a space in which individual viewers are invited to transcend their sense of self. Timed tickets are required to view ‘Fireflies on the Water’ and can only be reserved at the admission desk on the day of one’s visit.
Well known for her use of dense patterns of polka dots and nets, as well as her intense, large-scale environments, Yayoi Kusama works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance, and immersive installation.
Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama came to the United States in 1957 and quickly found herself at the epicenter of the New York avant-garde. After achieving fame through groundbreaking exhibitions and art “happenings,” she returned to her native country in 1973 and is now one of Japan’s most prominent contemporary artists. The Whitney’s retrospective features works spanning Kusama’s career.
The Yayoi Kusama retrospective will be on view through Sept. 30, 2012. ‘Fireflies on the Water’ may be viewed through Oct. 28, 2012.
The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 945 Madison Ave at 75th Street, New York, NY 10021. Visit the museum online at www.whitney.org.
# # #
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
