-
Birth
Kusama was born into a wealthy family owning a plant and seed farm -
Hallucinations
Kusama started to experience hallucinations when she was 10. She saw "flashes of light", "fields of dots", "speaking flowers", "patterns on cloth coming to life". -
Start of WWII
-
Sent to work in a Military Factory
-
End of WWII
-
Enrolled in Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts
Kusama studied traditional Japanese painting here. -
Staged solo exhibitions in Tokyo and Matsumoto
-
Went to live in the US
Kusama felt that Japan was too narrow-minded and too scornful of women -
Solo Exhibition in Seattle
-
Group Exhibition in New York
-
Associated with the European Avant-garde group
People who do avant-garde art are artists who practice art in a non-traditional fashion -
Holds a few exhibitions in US and Europe
-
Stages her "Aggregation" Show
Exhibition works make use of the entire gallery space -
Starts to include electric lights and mirrors in her work
-
Stages her first "happening"
A happening is a performance or an event that is considered to be art. -
Produces Narcissus Garden
In this happening, 1500 silver balls were placed on a patch of grass at the Venice Biennale in June. To include the viewers in her art, Kusama sells the balls for $2 each. -
Return to Japan
Kusama returned to Japan after the death of her partner and because of her poor health. -
Hospitalisation at Seiwa Hospital
Kusama decides to stay permanently at the mental hospital to treat her illnesses. For years, she would focus on writing and poetry. -
Mirror Room (Pumpkin)
A work combining the idea of her infinity mirrors and pumpkins becomes part of the permanent exhibition in Hara Museum of Contemporary Art. -
Pumpkin 1994 is installed on Naoshima Island
Pumpkin 1994 is an outdoor sculpture. -
Kusama's balloons make their first appearance in an exhibition
-
Sydney Bienale
Kusama contributes a balloon work and Infinity Mirror Room 1965/1998 to the Biennale of Sydney. -
Tsumari in Bloom
Kusama exhibits a ten-metre-wide flower sculpture on a small hill in Matsudai. -
Kusamatrix Exhibition
For this exhibition, the artist transforms the galleries of the new Mori Art Museum in Tokyo into immersive installations. Immersive installations make use of the entire gallery space to give viewers an experience to be "in" the artwork. -
Red Pumpkin
Kusama creates a four-metre-tall red pumpkin for the ‘Naoshima Standard Exhibition’. The sculpture is later placed permanently at the Naoshima Ferry Terminal. -
My Eternal Soul series
Still ongoing, the series now comprises over 500 paintings. It consists of organic shapes and decorative elements painted in bright colours. -
Wild Polka Dot Dance
The artist is asked to design a Town bus whose route travels through her hometown of Matsumoto. -
Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life
Exhibited Infinity Mirrored Room at the Tate Museum in London. The walls and ceiling of the room are mirrored, and the floor features a shallow pool of water. Visitors walk through the room on a walkway made of mirrored tiles. Hanging from the ceiling are hundreds of small, round LED lights that flash on and off -
Yayoi Kusama Exhibit at National Gallery
