A major retrospective dedicated to Yayoi Kusama is now on view at the Museum Ludwig, marking the institution’s fiftieth anniversary. The exhibition runs from March 14th to August 2nd, 2026. Bringing together over 300 pieces, the exhibition immerses visitors in Kusama’s unique world, where Infinity Mirror Room installations and iconic pumpkin sculptures have become defining symbols of her artistic style.
Spanning more than seven decades, it traces the evolution of her practice, from early 1930s drawings to newly commissioned installations, revealing a body of work that merges personal experience with universal themes of infinity, repetition and the fragility of existence.
Infinity Mirror Room: entering the boundless
At the heart of the exhibition lies Infinity Mirror Room, an immersive installation developed especially for the show that transforms the museum’s largest hall into a seemingly endless field of reflections. Through mirrored surfaces and repeated light patterns, the installation dissolves spatial boundaries, inviting visitors to experience the sensation of infinite expansion.
This concept reflects Kusama’s lifelong exploration of the universe as a boundless entity, where the individual dissolves into a larger whole. Drawing on her childhood visions of repeating patterns, these environments translate deeply personal experiences into collective, almost cosmic encounters.
Yayoi Kusama’s works: key highlights of the exhibition
The retrospective showcases a series of landmark works that define Kusama’s artistic journey. Among them is Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show (1963), her first large-scale installation. In this piece, a simple rowboat is covered in soft, repetitive forms that multiply endlessly through mirrored imagery. This piece encapsulates her fascination with accumulation and the obsessive repetition that characterises much of her work.
Another highlight is I’m Here but Nothing (2000/2026), which transforms a domestic interior into a luminous environment under black light, with fluorescent dots spreading across every surface. This installation creates a surreal atmosphere in which presence and absence become indistinguishable, reflecting Kusama’s recurring themes of obliteration and self-dissolution.
On the museum’s rooftop terrace, Flowers That Speak All About My Heart Given to the Sky features a monumental sculptural presence. Vibrant and organic, this piece connects Kusama’s vision of nature with her broader reflections on life, growth and the passage of time.
Pumpkin sculptures and the poetry of repetition
An exploration of Kusama’s universe would not be complete without her celebrated pumpkin sculptures, which feature as playful yet symbolic forms throughout her work. Covered in her signature polka dots, these organic shapes embody a sense of comfort and continuity. They stand in contrast to the infinite and often disorientating spaces of her mirrored installations.
Together, these pieces reveal an artistic approach rooted in repetition, transformation and the quest for meaning in the vastness of existence. Through immersive environments and iconic motifs, Kusama invites viewers to reflect on their place within an ever-expanding universe, where art becomes a form of both personal expression and shared experience.
Installation views, Yayoi Kusama, MUSEUM LUDWIG, Cologne, 2026
Photography by TOBIAS KREUSLER
All artworks courtesy of YAYOI KUSAMA
