Kusama: Cosmic Nature

by Mika Yoshitake (Editor), Alexandra Munroe (Contributor), Jenni Sorkin (Contributor)

Experience the brilliant artist's lifelong obsession with nature and immersion in gardens, a bedrock of her hugely influential work.


Yayoi Kusama’s work is the product of an infinite curiosity and obsessive drive to create. Throughout the artist’s long and varied career, there is one persistent yet little-studied through line—her deep engagement with nature. From early sketches depicting flowers at her family’s plant nursery in Japan, to her most recent monumental sculptures of botanical forms poised to take flight, Kusama consistently calls our attention to the patterns, connections, and cycles of living things that are not always visible.
Cosmic Nature is the accompanying catalogue to the first comprehensive exploration of the artist’s enduring fascination with the natural world, exhibited across the 250-acre landscape of The New York Botanical Garden. The exhibition examines her lifelong awareness and attunement to nature, which serves not merely as a source of inspiration, but is an integral source of power for her artistic language. This profound life force pervades all of Kusama’s work, from studies of the molecular to contemplations of the universal, resulting in a transcendent, cosmic nature.
Exhibition guest curator Mika Yoshitake, an independent scholar specializing in postwar Japanese art, and Joanna L. Groarke, NYBG exhibitions curator, catalogue co-editors, bring together essays by art historians, curators, and a scientist, who each present unique interpretations of Kusama’s engagement with the natural world. Featuring more than 120 drawings, paintings, sculptures, and archival photographs, including stunning views of the works displayed in NYBG’s gardens and galleries, Cosmic Nature offers a new perspective on one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary artists.

Genres: Art, Japan

176 pages, Hardcover

Published June 22, 2021

Reviews

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

استكمالًا ل قراءة كل الكتب المتاحة عن
yayoi ف المكتبة العامة
علشان بحضر عنها فيديو هنزله قريب ع قناة جرافيميديا ع اليوتيوب اللي بنزل عليها فيديوهات عن التصميم والفن كل خميس 👇
@graphimedia.workshops

الكتاب مليان صور حلوة بالحجم الكبير ومختلفة عن الكتب التانية اللي قرأتها عنها ومركزه اكتر عن موضوع الزهور اللي كانت مركزه عليه ف فترات كتير من حياتها

هصور الكتب بشكل سريع ع انستجرام كمان
@mai.designer92

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pros - I loved it and think the journey through Kusama's art is worth it. I appreciate the focus on the influences in her art beyond/in addition to her mental health. I loved the segments that compared her works over time and how her style morphed in some ways and still paid homage to nature and the universe.

Cons - At times, the writing of the chapters is pretentious. Every artwork mentioned in the writing should have been featured as a picture for reference, but I understand limitations with cost and page space.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and fun.

[BAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

For life long fans and newcomers to Kusama, this book has something for everyone.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting walk through her life’s work. particularly impressed by Narcissist Garden’s silver bauble mirrors as an effective protest against the bias of being excluded from the Venice Biennale.