INFINITY returns! Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER opens April 5

“Entering this immersive mirrored space, Kusama challenges us to think about how we see ourselves, while her metallic spheres simultaneously reflect and distort our image,” said Debbie Johnsen, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art, AGO. “The allocated sixty seconds per visit is very intentional and designed to trigger a lasting, profound impression. What better way to connect – with strangers or those closest to you – than by sharing a glimpse of the infinite?”

An exciting example of the unique visual language Kusama has been developing since the 1960s, INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER features mirrored spheres suspended from the ceiling and arranged on the floor. A mirrored column inside the room invites visitors to peer into a seemingly infinite field of silver orbs. The installation welcomes up to four visitors at a time for a duration of 60 seconds.

Entrance to INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is included in General Admission and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission to the AGO is always free for Ontarians under 25, Indigenous Peoples, AGO Members and Annual Passholders. For more information on membership levels or how to become a Member or Annual Passholder, visit ago.ca/membership/become-a-member.

The AGO is open late on Wednesdays and Fridays until 9 p.m. and every Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., as well as select holiday Mondays.

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Artmaking workshop
Beginning Saturday, May 3, the museum offers family printmaking workshops every Saturday, inspired by Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER. Children and guardians can step into infinity before heading to the studio to make custom stamps and learn screen printing, techniques used by Kusama. Tickets include gallery admission and all materials. For full schedule and to book, visit ago.ca/events/printmaking-together-exploring-yayoi-kusama-adult.

Kusama Afternoon Tea  
On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from April 5 to May 4, enjoy an Afternoon Tea experience at the Norma Ridley Members’ Lounge inspired by Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER.  The set features bespoke Yuzu Caramel Chocolate bonbons by Toronto-based chocolatier Chocolat de Kat. Advanced reservations required. The cost is $75 per adult and $30 per child. For details and to book, visit ago.ca/events/afternoon-tea-special.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Nagano, in 1929, and currently lives and works in Tokyo. She studied traditional Nihonga (Japanese-style) painting in Kyoto and moved to New York City in 1958. There she was active in avant-garde circles during the formative years of pop art and minimalism, exhibiting her work alongside such artists as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, and Allan Kaprow – figures who have cited Kusama as influential to the development of assemblage, environmental art, and performative practices. Kusama exhibited widely in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands in the mid-1960s, participating in exhibitions with artists associated with Nul, Zero and the New Tendency movements. In this context she began developing her interest in the optics and interactive elements of mirrors, electric lights, sound, and kinetics.

Her visibility grew in the late 1960s through her radical anti-war happenings, which put nudity and polka dots into the streets of New York. Due to ongoing struggles with her health, Kusama returned to Japan in 1973, where she has since resided. Her work gained widespread recognition in the late 1980s following a number of international solo exhibitions, including shows at the Center for International Contemporary Arts, New York and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England, which both took place in 1989. She represented Japan in 1993 at the 45th Venice Biennale to much critical acclaim. Now in her 90s, Yayoi Kusama continues to produce interactive, infinity-like spaces, as well as paintings and sculptures

Contemporary programming at the AGO is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts

ABOUT THE AGO
Located in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest art museums in North America, attracting approximately one million visitors annually. The AGO Collection of more than 120,000 works of art ranges from cutting-edge contemporary art to significant works by Indigenous and Canadian artists to European masterpieces. The AGO presents wide-ranging exhibitions and programs, including solo exhibitions and acquisitions by diverse and underrepresented artists from around the world. The AGO is embarking on the seventh expansion project undertaken since it was founded in 1900. When completed the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will increase exhibition space for the museum’s growing modern and contemporary collection and reflect the people who call Toronto home. With its groundbreaking Annual Pass program, the AGO is one of the most affordable and accessible attractions in the GTA. Visit ago.ca to learn more.

The AGO is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. Additional operating support is received from the City of Toronto, the Canada Council for the Arts, and generous contributions from AGO Members, donors, and private-sector partners.