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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Midway Between Mystery and Symbol: Yayoi Kusama's Monochrome

Aug 10 – Dec 26, 2021
107 Bentencho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0851, Japan

Yayoi Kusama isn’t associated with monochrome. Her polka dots, pumpkins, and mirrored infinity rooms are exuberantly colored, their groovy palettes suggesting happy acid trips. Yet since antiquity monochrome has been a distinct aesthetic, sometimes in elegant ink-wash paintings, a genre to which Kusama is drawn. Indeed, as far back as the late 50s she employed monochrome. This exhibition explores Kusama in black and white, or in shades of one color, or two. —E.C.

The Yayoi Kusama Museum’s latest show, Tokyo, 2021 © Yayoi Kusama.