Meander your way through Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dotted paradise (her largest display ever mounted in Australia) after-hours at NGV. Plus, an intimate chat with the gallery’s senior curator of Asian art.

 

Few things compare with the church-like silence of a gallery by night, without the crowds. On February 4, 2025, Access members are invited to escape the masses at an exclusive after-hours viewing of Yayoi Kusama.

 

With over 180 of Kusama’s works stretching across NGV’s ground floor, you can plunge into the singular artist’s wacky world (and the pieces that have been making waves for eight decades). The two-part retrospective is a display of phenomenal breadth, tracing the ascent of the self-appointed “high priestess of polka dots”.

 

From her early days in Japan on her family’s seed farm, to the Infinity Net paintings which made a splash in New York in the late 1950s and ’60s, to the kaleidoscopic, mirrored infinity rooms and spotty inflatables which consolidated her as a leading figure in contemporary art. You’ll also find a giant, speckled pumpkin; radical fashion pieces (think “peekaboo clothing”); and avant-garde sculptures. All tied together, of course, by Kusama’s hypnotic use of pattern.

 

Enter through the gallery’s waterfall, where you’ll be greeted by the team. Then, be seated to hear from Wayne Crothers (senior curator of Asian art at NGV) in conversation with Broadsheet’s Australia editor. After that, the exhibition is all yours. It's that simple. No crowds. Just a polka-dotted, hypnotic paradise. 

 

Tickets drop January 23 at 4pm and will be very limited, so don’t miss out.