Points that Conquered the World - Yayoi Kusama's Dazzling Retrospective Reveals a Lifetime of Infinite Dots
At 96, Yayoi Kusama remains the world's most famous living artist. Her striking polka-dotted pumpkins, nets and tentacles have captivated millions, especially on social media. Now, a major retrospective in Cologne showcases her extraordinary seven-decade career.
Kusama's fascination with dots began in childhood. As a girl, she suffered hallucinations—fields of dots that overwhelmed her vision. These early experiences shaped her art, filling her drawings with repetitive patterns long before she gained fame.
In the 1960s, she moved to New York and immersed herself in the Flower Power movement and Pop Art. There, she staged radical performances, covering her own body—and others'—in polka dots. Her work became a bold exploration of infinity, using endless repetition to dissolve the self into the cosmos.
After returning to Tokyo, Kusama chose to live in a psychiatric hospital, a place she calls her 'safe space' for the past 50 years. Despite this, she has never stopped creating. Every day, she paints, driven by art's therapeutic power and her lifelong obsession with infinity.
The Cologne exhibition at Museum Ludwig features 300 of her works, from early sketches to immersive installations. The centrepiece is a vast room filled with giant, polka-dotted octopus arms, plunging visitors into a psychedelic universe of dots. Even her beloved pumpkins—inspired by their human-like forms and the voices she once heard—take centre stage in the show.
Kusama's art transforms personal struggle into universal wonder. Her dots, pumpkins and infinite mirrors continue to draw global audiences, proving that creativity can turn even the deepest fears into something extraordinary. The Cologne retrospective runs until the end of the year, offering a rare glimpse into her boundless imagination.
