FOR 4-6

YAYOI KUSAMA IMAGE-BASED WORKS AT BARBARA MATHES GALLERY APRIL 19

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NEW YORK CITY — Barbara Mathes Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings, collage, sculptures and works on paper by Yayoi Kusama, “From Here to Infinity,” on view April 19–June 8.

Spanning a career of more than 50 years, the show will feature image-based works, including a rare self-portrait. Famously known for her abstract “Infinity Net” paintings (a selection of which will also be on display), Kusama’s image-based works illuminate the expansive and prolific nature of her career.

Since the mid-1950s, Yayoi Kusama has rigorously explored themes of obsession, accumulation and repetition through an extensive body of work dominated by a compulsive use of dots, nets and biomorphic shapes.

“Selfportrait,” 1982, is a rare work in which Kusama has rendered an image of herself in acrylic and collage. While Kusama is often photographed standing in front of her paintings, sculpture and installations, it is unusual to see a work in which she is the main subject. In this self-portrait, Kusama’s likeness is formed by the very nets and dots for which she has become known.

The exhibition will feature two objects from Kusama’s “Accumulation” series, which was begun in 1962 and continues throughout her career. The series features domestic items such as shoes, chairs, clothing and pots adorned with phallus-shaped objects that are sewn, stuffed taut with cotton, and then painted.

“Pollen,” 1984, is comprised of a small white chair draped with curly white and pink synthetic hair out of which a cluster of Kusama’s soft sculptures emerge. “Shoes,” 2002, is a playful work that consists of high-heeled shoes stuffed with Kusama’s biomorphic sculptures and covered in red polka dots.

The gallery is at 22 East 80th Street. For information, www.bmathesgallery.com or 212-570-4190.