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A new retrospective of works by Japanese legend Yayoi Kusama at M+ affirms the artist's endless capacity for renewal and reinvention, writes Chitralekha Basu.
"I think through her art you gain a new understanding of life," he adds.
It appears Kusama herself might have arrived at a new understanding of her role as an artist in society since COVID-19. Death of Nerves (2022), an M+ commission and a monumental public sculpture displayed across three levels, makes for a striking exemplar of this transition. It's the latest iteration of a fabric sculpture from 1976, on display elsewhere in the show. The older version comprises reams of white fabric with dark spots, like a never-ending speckled ribbon, loosely strung between posts, and bearing Kusama's signature phallic protrusions.
In its newest avatar, what was an expression of the artist's struggles with her mental health issues, realized in stark hues of black and white, has been magnified to three times its original size and painted in vivid shades of primary colors that speak to the artist's endless capacity for renewal and reinvention.
Contact the writer at basu@chinadailyhk.com
