A couple weekends back, I went to see Yayoi Kusama's Obliteration Room - which is part of her current exhibition "Give Me Love" at the David Zwirner Gallery! I've seen photos of her Obliteration Room when it was on display in other parts of the world, and have always been wanting to experience it for myself (hoping that it would some day make its way to NY). When I found out she was returning to the David Zwirner gallery this spring, I was SUPER stoked and got my butt over there ASAP.
I discovered Yayoi Kusama's work last year when her exhibition "I Who Have Arrived In Heaven" was at DZ - which I actually went to see twice (despite having to stand on the long ass line in the freezing cold). It was a November - December show, but the cold never bothered me anywaaaay. ;) Plus, it was totally worth the wait!
"I Who Have Arrived in Heaven" had two of YK's infinity rooms on display - one of which only allowed 1-2 people inside for 1 minute at a time. To this day, that exhibition is hands down one of the best ones I've ever experienced.
The concept of the Obliteration Room is a pretty simple one (like a lot of YK's work). The room itself starts off as pure white. It is composed like a small house - complete with kitchen stove, fridge, dining table, TV, couch, desk, bookshelves, lamps, coat rack, etc. Every person who enters the room gets a sheet of colorful circle stickers, and is encouraged to place them wherever they want in the room (so great for kids!). Over time, the room becomes more and more "obliterated" with the stickers. I'm hoping to go back once more before it closes to see the difference from my mid-May visit!
When I entered the room, I was super overwhelmed. I spent probably a good 20+ minutes inside. I'm surprised they didn't throw me out for being in there so long, lol. I didn't create anything too distinct with my stickers, but made my mark by clustering together my pink + green, blue + orange, and red + yellow stickers in the corner next to the desk. After I was done using up my stickers, I lingered around looking to see if I could depict any intentional "designs" in the sea of circles. It was like a fun game of "I Spy;" I saw quite a few hearts and happy faces. Someone left an unfinished sheet of stickers laying around, and I totally picked it up and decided to stick stickers all over my pants... because I am literally like a 5 year old stuck in a 23 year old body... haha. I also really wanted an "ultimate art selfie" - and I'm not one to typically take selfies... but for Yayoi, I do. ;)
There were also some new paintings and a few sculptures on display, which I enjoyed a lot too. I really love her eye for patten (primarily dots) and of course - color. AND, she is 86 years old - which blows my mind! I hope I'm still making inspiring and amazing work like she is at that age.
The show is free to the public and is open until June 13! If you're in the NY area, I highly recommend stopping by to check it out before it closes! :)