It will mark the first anniversary of the institution’s grand opening in the West Kowloon Cultural District.

Though Hong Kong hasn’t announced when its tough Covid restrictions will end (arrivals are banned from restaurants, bars, and most attractions during the first three days), art-lovers should still take note of an upcoming show at the harborside M+ Museum, which made its long-awaited debut last year. One of the most celebrated female artists alive today will take the spotlight in a special exhibition that ventures far beyond the polka-dot pumpkins and mirrored Infinity Rooms she is most known for. Running from November 12, 2022 until May 14, 2023, “Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now” is being billed as the largest retrospective of the contemporary artist in Asia outside Japan.

This six-month showcase comprises more than 200 works created by Kusama over the course of the past seven decades, presenting a visual feast of installations, paintings, sculptures, collages, and archival material — not to mention drawings from her teenage years — for an in-depth look at the 93-year-old visionary’s career. Along the way, visitors will learn how she overcame immense personal challenges in Japan to pursue her artistic dreams and move to New York, where she soon emerged as a leader of the avant-garde movement during the 1960s.

Organized into six themed sections — Infinity, Accumulation, Radical Connectivity, Biocosmic, Death, and Force of Life — the exhibition also includes a trio of new immersive art pieces never before seen by the public. Large-scale installation Death of Nerves (2022) has been specially commissioned by M+ and expresses Kusama’s famed net motifs in three dimensions. Mirrored spaces and polka dots are combined with balloons in Dots Obsession—Aspiring to Heaven’s Love (2022), while two sculptures collectively named Pumpkin (2022) will be on display in the museum’s main hall.

Tickets for “Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now” are now available for purchase online. Standard tickets are priced at HK$240 (US$31) for adults and HK$150 (US$19) for students and senior citizens. Kids aged six and below will get free entry.

mplus.org.hk