Your selfie game better be on point before coming to the Infinity Mirror Rooms of Yayoi Kusama.
After a sold-out run in Los Angeles, the Japanese artist’s endless landscapes have arrived in Chelsea at David Zwirner gallery (525 and 533 W. 19th St.) for a free run, open now through Dec. 16.
The main attraction, Let’s Survive Forever, is a galaxy right here on Earth. Every wall and column is covered in mirrors endlessly reflecting silver spheres placed around the room, creating the appearance of floating among the stars.
In the second room, Longing for Eternity, visitors stick their heads inside a hexagonal box filled with lightbulbs whose colors change, a life-size kaleidoscope.
On display for the first time in the U.S., a third room called With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever contains three giant flowers, with everything from floor to ceiling painted white with red polka dots. Go ahead, tell your friends you took a tumble into Wonderland. You’ve got proof.
Sounds amazing, right? Well, you’re going to have to work for that selfie.
The gallery is estimating wait times of between two and four hours to enter the two mirror rooms — that’s outside, by the way. Each group of six people will be allowed to spend only one minute inside Let’s Survive Forever, and only 30 seconds in Longing for Eternity, which can only accommodate three at a time. Absolutely no selfie sticks or flash is allowed.
There’s a separate entrance for With All My Love For The Tulips, I Pray Forever, and while there’s no time limit, you’ll be asked to keep it moving once 10 people are in the room.
Accompanying the rooms are 66 of Kusama’s My Eternal Soul paintings, which you can also see without waiting in line. Entry to all of the exhibits is free; gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays (except Thanksgiving) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kusama has been making art since the 1950s, spanning visual pieces, installations, literature, performance, fashion and architecture. At 88 years old, she continues to produce some of the most beloved art exhibits today, well beyond the Infinity Rooms — perhaps because she’s never lost the sense of childlike wonder we’re all taught to grow out of.
“In my more than 70 years as an artist, I have always been in awe of the wonder of life,” she writes in her artist statement.
“More than anything, this strong sense of the life force in artistic expression is what has supported me and gave me the power to overcome feelings of depression, hopelessness and sadness. I have been guided by my belief in this power.”
So set aside the deep analysis and mental gymnastics that modern art requires for a weekend and just enjoy being in Kusama’s infinite moment.
