Every Day I Pray For Love

Yayoi Kusama’s exhibit, “Every Day I Pray For Love,” at the David Zwirner Gallery in Manhattan, has been the talk of the town. Since the show opened in November, lines of onlookers have looped around the gallery’s block at West 20th Street, waiting hours to catch a glimpse of the famed artist’s “Infinity Mirrored Room — Dancing Lights That Flew Up To the Universe, 2019.”

Along with the Infinity Room, the gallery featured the artist’s new paintings, new sculptures, and an immersive light installation. I had the privilege of visiting the exhibit to see it for myself last week, prior to its closing on December 14.

It’s no argument that Kusama is one of the most influential artists of our time, resonating with a global audience. The artist was born in Japan in 1929 and established herself in New York in the mid-’60s as an avant-garde artist focusing on pop art and minimalism. She’s known for repetitive elements, like dots, and large-scale displays that have had viewers waiting for hours to view in recent years. Her “Infinity Mirrored Room” has been shown around the globe.

“My entire life has been painted here. Every day, any day. I will never cease dedicating my whole life to my love of the universe. Oh, my dearest art, with the challenge of creating new art, I work as if dying; these works are my everything,” stated the artist in November.

The experience of visiting the exhibit is one of a kind. The Infinity Room offered an experience of endless space, with mirroring of flickering lights, conveying what the artist describes as an “eternal unlimited universe.”

The show also featured an installation of new soft sculptures, and new paintings in her “My Eternal Soul” series. Another highlight was a floor-based constellation, a ladder composed of almost 100 stainless-steel elements. The reflections in the installations include the viewer in the mirrors to infinity.

Although this exhibit has closed, the New York Botanical Garden will present a selection of the artist’s significant works from May 9 to November 1, 2020. To learn more about the artist, visit www.davidzwirner.com.

jessica@indyeastend.com
@hamptondaze