NEW YORK—While the Whitney pays tribute to Yayoi Kusama with a retrospective exhibit at its Upper East Side museum, the Japanese artist’s signature polka dots are being celebrated in the Meatpacking District. A boutique condominium building under construction at 345 14th Street is wrapped in a groovy version of her polka dot pattern in mustard yellow and black. The compelling scrim installation is titled “Yellow Trees.”
The Kusama exhibit is also being cross promoted further south at Hudson River Park where “Guidepost to the New Space,” a series of red and white polka dot formations, looks like amorphous lady bugs. Both of these downtown projects are near the future home of the Whitney Museum at the south end of The High Line.
In addition, at the Louis Vuitton store on Fifth Avenue in midtown, Kusama’s bold polka dots grace a new collection of handbags, scarves and ready-to-wear. The July debut coincided with a series of elaborate window installations commissioned for Louis Vuitton stores around the world. The luxury label launched a second line of Kusama products at Selfridges in London at the end of August.
The Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Whitney Museum is on view from July 12 to Sept. 20, 2012.
Have you seen the exhibit at the Whitney or did you get a chance to view the tribute earlier this year at the Tate in London? What do you think of Kusama’s work and global re-emergence?
All photos © Arts Observer
