Exhibition
Yayoi Kusama
Exhibition
Yayoi Kusama
The Retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Yayoi Kusama Exhibition in Amsterdam
+++ Breaking news: It was announced today (August 27) that the artist Yayoi Kusama passed away on August 14 at the age of 97. +++
Yayoi Kusama – The Major Retrospective
Exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum
11 September 2026 to 17 January 2027
Following its successful presentation at the Fondation Beyeler and its hugely popular run at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne (the museum’s most successful exhibition, with 450,000 visitors), the exhibition will arrive in Amsterdam this September as its third venue, hosted by the Stedelijk Museum.
So, if you have not yet had the opportunity to see it, Amsterdam offers another chance to discover the artist Yayoi Kusama and her extraordinary body of work.
I have already managed to secure my tickets for 12 September and cannot wait to see it for myself!
Yayoi Kusama
Tickets Amsterdam
The Details
at a glance
Exhibition
Yayoi Kusama – The Major Retrospective
11 September 2026 to 17 January 2027
Opening Hours
Daily from 10.00 to 18.00 h
Last admission: 17.30 h (+/-)
Price:
Special exhibition ticket required!
EUR 32.50 for adults
EUR 17.50 for students
Free admission for children under 19 & I Amsterdam Card holders
Permanent collection: EUR 22.50 – so be sure to book the right one!
ICOM Card
Free admission for ICOM-Members
Who Is
Yayoi Kusama?
At the age of 97, Yayoi Kusama is one of the most talked-about figures in the art world. Her major retrospective is currently touring Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, introducing new audiences to her remarkable life and work.
But who is she? Where does she come from? And what is the secret behind her art?
Yayoi Kusama was born on 22 March 1929 in Japan. Her childhood was far from easy. At the age of twelve, during the Second World War, she worked in a parachute factory. Even more difficult, however, was her relationship with her mother, whose rejection and strict expectations left a lasting mark on her early life and contributed to the experiences that would later shape her artistic vision.
From a young age, Kusama experienced hallucinations involving dots and repeating net-like patterns. She later explained that she often felt as though she might dissolve into these endless forms. According to her own accounts, she has experienced such visions since childhood and continues to see dots everywhere even in old age. (Katharina Abel: At 97, Japan’s art icon Yayoi Kusama is Instagram-ready. In: Deutsche Welle. Abgerufen am 22. März 2026)
Between 1958 and 1972, during the Cold War, Kusama moved to New York City, where many of her most famous works and performances were created. During this period she met influential artists such as Andy Warhol and became part of the vibrant New York art scene. She later claimed that some of her ideas were adopted by other artists without proper recognition.
Today, Kusama is best known for her iconic polka dots. These colourful, repeating patterns appear throughout her work, covering canvases, sculptures, fabrics and even people. Over the decades, the dots have become her unmistakable artistic signature.
She is also famous for creating immersive installations filled with mirrors, which multiply the dots endlessly and create a powerful sense of infinite space. Stepping into one of these rooms can feel like entering another world — perhaps even a glimpse into the artist’s own inner universe.
Since 1977, Kusama has voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo. From there, she has continued to paint, create new works, stage exhibitions and receive international awards. She also represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1993. The hospital provides a stable environment that allows her to continue her creative work, and it has remained her chosen home for nearly fifty years.
Photo: Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Caption: Yayoi Kusama at around ten years of age, c. 1939. © YAYOI KUSAMA
About the Exhibition
Yayoi Kusama – The Major Retrospective
This major retrospective offers a comprehensive overview of the life and work of Yayoi Kusama, one of the most influential artists of our time. Thanks to the exhibition’s previous presentations at the Fondation Beyeler and the Museum Ludwig, as well as the accompanying press coverage and visitor feedback, we already have a good idea of what to expect when it arrives at the Stedelijk Museum.
The exhibition will showcase works spanning more than seventy years, from Kusama’s early drawings and paintings to the immersive installations that have made her famous around the world.
The retrospective not only highlights her spectacular large-scale works but also traces her personal and artistic development. Visitors will discover her early nature-inspired drawings, featuring flowers, seeds and floral patterns. These themes can be traced back to her childhood, as her parents worked in the seed and flower trade in Japan. It was also during this period that Kusama began experiencing the hallucinations that would later become a central element of her art.
The exhibition then follows her move to New York City, where she developed many of her most important ideas. During the 1960s she became involved in experimental performances, moved closer to the Pop Art movement and began exploring themes such as infinity, identity, repetition and psychological perception. Many of her works are deeply connected to her own experiences and inner world.
At the heart of the exhibition are Kusama’s unmistakable motifs: endless polka dots, mirrored environments, vivid colours and organic forms. Particularly fascinating are the famous Infinity Rooms, where mirrors and light create the illusion of limitless space. Visitors do not simply observe the artwork – they become part of it. This immersive quality is what makes Kusama’s work so powerful and memorable.
Another highlight is the inclusion of numerous rarely exhibited works from private collections and international museums. Together, they provide a remarkably complete picture of her artistic journey, from her early experimental pieces to the monumental installations of recent years.
Combining a traditional retrospective with an immersive visual experience, this exhibition is already being regarded as one of the most important art events of 2026.
We are certainly looking forward to it and will no doubt be visiting the Stedelijk Museum in September!
Text rights: © Céline Mülich, 2026
Image rights:
All images may only be used in connection with the exhibition promotion. At the end of the exhibition, this article will be displayed without the images.
1. Yayoi Kusama with ‚Yellow Tree / Living Room‘ at the Aichi Triennale, 2010 © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner
2. Yayoi Kusama around the age of ten, ca. 1939. © YAYOI KUSAMA
Galleria 1:
a. Yayoi Kusama poses in ‚Untitled (Dress)‘ with her phallic sculptures in her New York studio, 1971. Photo: Tom Haar. © YAYOI KUSAMA
b. Yayoi Kusama amid her installation ‚Narcissus Garden‘ at the 33rd Venice Biennale, 1966. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner. © YAYOI KUSAMA
c. ‚Anatomic Explosion‘ happening on the Brooklyn Bridge, New York, August 14, 1968. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles. Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in Memory of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender. Photo: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust
Gallerie 2:
a. Yayoi Kusama, ‚Pumpkin‘, 1991. Acrylic on canvas, 91 × 116.7 cm. Collection of the artist. © YAYOI KUSAMA
b. Infinity Mirrored Room – ‚The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe‘, 2025. Mixed media, detail. Photo: Mark Niedermann. © YAYOI KUSAMA
c. Yayoi Kusama, ‚Atomic Bomb‘, 1954. Gouache, ink and pastel on paper, 25 × 17.6 cm. Collection Matsumoto City Museum of Art. © YAYOI KUSAMA
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