The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art recently announced it had acquired one of Yayoi Kusama‘s immensely popular “Infinity Mirror Rooms.”
The reflective installation Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love (2023) first premiered at David Zwirner gallery in New York last spring. That show, like many other recent Kusama presentations elsewhere, drew large crowds. SFMOMA said that its recent Kusama show, “Infinite Love,” was seen by 170,000 people.
SFMOMA will put its Instagram-friendly piece on view for visitors on Saturday. It will remain in the mueum’s galleries until January of next year.
The news follows a high-profile apology from the prolific artist to the San Francisco Chronicle last October in response to a criticism from columnist Soleil Ho highlighting the anti-Black statements in her 2003 autobiography Infinity Net.
“I deeply regret using hurtful and offensive language in my book,” the Japanese artist said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle supplied by the museum in October. “My message has always been one of love, hope, compassion, and respect for all people. My lifelong intention has been to lift up humanity through my art. I apologize for the pain I have caused.”
In addition to the “Infinity Mirror Room,” SFMOMA also announced it had acquired works by more than five dozen artists, including Amy Sherald, rafa esparza, Oscar Murillo, Martin Wong, Isaac Julien, Rashid Johnson, Christopher Wool, and Virgil Abloh.
“The acquisitions announced today capture an incredible depth of artistic ambition, formal innovation, and social and cultural experience,” museum director Christopher Bedford said in a press statement. “The group reflects SFMOMA’s driving vision to enhance our collection with works by a diverse spectrum of artists who engage with an equally diverse range of subject matter, whether focused on aesthetic experimentation or on grappling with central issues of their time.”
