Japanese Yayoi Kusama, 93, is probably the most popular contemporary artist. Cheryl Sim, CEO of the Phi Foundation and curator of the exhibition DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE, is convinced. “Yayoi Kusama’s career is exemplary and spans several decades. The contribution of this true pioneer, who still produces today, to the history of art is major,” she explains enthusiastically.
The Infinity Mirrored Rooms [Salles de miroirs infinis], an innovation created by Yayoi Kusama herself, have allowed the artist to attract an ever larger and younger audience in recent years. Two of them, including DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE, which gives its name to the exhibition, are even presented in Montreal, while there are only twenty in circulation worldwide. These tiny rooms, cosmic and mysterious, have everything to confuse the visitor. In the dim light, only a few light bulbs and mirrors “make us feel and sense that we are floating in the universe, that we are losing awareness of our bodies, that we are apprehending something bigger than ourselves”, explains the general manager, Cheryl Sim .
“So much the better if the Halls of Infinite Mirrors are the key that allows the visitor to enter Yayoi Kusama’s work to discover its countless facets and better appreciate its vibrations”, she adds.
Much more, the Infinity Mirrored Rooms testify to the questions and proposals that Yayoi Kusama raises through all of his exploratory works. ” Who are we ? is, in fact, the big question that has guided this artist fascinated by the constellations since her beginnings. “According to her, we are all stars among billions of other stars. And since we are also doomed, Yayoi Kusama confronts the existential and universal fear of dying in a positive way, says Cheryl Sim. She probes points and cellular patterns, as well as biomorphic forms and then pumpkins and flowers, to comfort and ward off this anguish. »
“Basic Questions”
The visitor will also be able to discover in DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE the depth and breadth of Yayoi Kusama’s work. For Cheryl Sim, the artist is, moreover, dizzyingly progressive in her way of painting, and the universe and our place as humans in it remain eternally at the heart of her concerns. “She began her monochrome drawings and paintings with repetitive gestures, which produced a net effect that crossed the entire canvas, recalls the curator of the exhibition. Then, she gradually realized her obsession with patterns and small dots, which are at the root of her proposal. »
For her part, Phoebe Greenberg, founder and chief creative officer of the Phi group, believes that the exhibition dedicated to Yayoi Kusama is an important event that encourages the visitor to reflect on the notion of “immersivity”, dear to Phi. “She asked fundamental questions about her status as a woman and her status as an artist, offering a meditation on her presence in the world and in the universe. The accumulation of repetitions is there to settle this feeling of impending annihilation. And if the works of Yayoi Kusama travel all over the planet thanks to exhibitions and social networks, DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE is a great opportunity to bring and anchor a new dimension to the artistic journey.
Finally, Cheryl Sim salutes the notoriety of an artist like Yayoi Kusama, with whom many identify. “His pop, playful and colorful work speaks to many people and touches the soul directly. She reminds us that art is for everyone, not just a certain elite. An access to the beauty that the public was waiting for, since the tickets for the exhibition for the month of July flew away in a few moments.