Yayoi Kusama at Philip Johnson's Glass House.

Celebrating the 110th anniversary of Philip Johnson’s birth and the 10th anniversary of the opening of the architect’s iconic project to the public, The Glass House presents Yayoi Kusama: ‘Narcissus Garden’, a landscape installation that will be on view throughout the 2016 tour season. First created fifty years ago in 1966 for the 33rd Venice Biennale, this iteration of ‘Narcissus Garden’ will be incorporated into the Glass House’s 49-acre landscape.

“We are honoured to be working with Yayoi Kusama, an artist Philip Johnson both admired and collected. This exhibition playfully engages the entire site, creating a celebratory mood for Philip Johnson’s 110th birthday and the 10th year since the opening of this museum,” said Irene Shum, Curator and Collections Manager at the Glass House.

Narcissus Garden, comprising 1,300 floating steel spheres, each approximately 12 inches in diameter (30 cm) are installed in the Lower Meadow and forest, creating a dramatic view to the west of the Glass House. Drifting in the newly restored pond, the spheres move with the wind and follow the pond’s natural currents, forming a kinetic sculpture. Their mirrored surfaces reflect the surrounding Pond Pavilion (1962), wooded landscape, and sky.

The Glass House also installed Kusama’s recently created enormous steel PUMPKIN (2015). “The first time I saw a pumpkin was in a farm in elementary school. In Japanese, a ‘pumpkin head’ is an ignorant man or a pudgy woman, but for me, I am charmed by its shape, form, and lack of pretension,” says the artist.

‘Dots Obsession – Alive, Seeking for Eternal Hope’ was a special installation that ran for a limited time from September 1st to 26th, where Kusama created an “infinity room” experience with the Glass House itself covered with polka dots. Visitors who attended the exhibition during this period were offered the unique experience to simultaneously see the world through the eyes of both Philip Johnson and Yayoi Kusama.

See more work by Yayoi Kusama on Yellowtrace.