Cosmic Nature: Embracing the Unknown

KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature guest curator Mika Yoshitake discusses the organic forms central to Yayoi Kusama’s unique vision that integrates nature and human nature, the earthly and the cosmic. Emphasizing the pivotal role of biomorphic imagery from both microcosmic and macrocosmic perspectives, Yoshitake examines the visceral impact of Kusama’s artistic language and the ways life and afterlife profoundly coexist in the artist’s lifelong journey of embracing the unknown.

Mika Yoshitake, Ph.D., is an independent curator with expertise in postwar Japanese art. As Curator of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (2011–18), she curated Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors (2017–19) among other exhibitions. Upcoming curatorial projects include the international tour of Yoshitomo Nara (2021–22) at LACMA, a major retrospective at M+ Hong Kong (2022–23), and Breath(e): Towards Climate and Social Justice (2024) at the Hammer Museum.