Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

11 September 2026 - 17 January 2027

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam presents a major retrospective dedicated to Yayoi Kusama, bringing together more than seven decades of a practice that has transformed the languages of painting, sculpture, installation and performance. The exhibition traces the development of an artist whose distinctive visual vocabulary has become one of the most recognisable in contemporary art.

From Kusama’s early work in Japan through her formative years in New York to her later practice in Tokyo, the exhibition reveals the breadth behind the familiar motifs of dots, nets, pumpkins, and mirrored environments. The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, drawings, collage, fashion, and documentation of happenings and performances alongside immersive installations, such as a new Infinity Mirror Room.

This Amsterdam showcase forms the final chapter of a series of European retrospectives organised with Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel and Museum Ludwig in Cologne. The exhibition also builds on the Stedelijk Museum’s longstanding relationship with Kusama, whose work entered the museum’s collection in the 1960s as she emerged as a significant figure within the international avant-garde.

Following Kusama’s passing in Tokyo on 14 August 2026 at the age of 97, the exhibition has inevitably acquired additional significance. Conceived during her lifetime, it now offers a timely opportunity to consider the continuity of her artistic vision and the influence of a practice that continued to evolve until her final years.