Yayoi Kusama, museum retrospective in Cologne reaches its final week

From the AD HOC NEWS Art Desk » Exhibition & Show Desk - The editors cover exhibitions, auctions, collections, prizes and artistic positions. Published: August 24, 2026 · Last checked: August 24, 2026, 11:14 AM

Yayoi Kusama fills Museum Ludwig in Cologne with more than 300 works in a sweeping retrospective. As the museum outlines in its anniversary exhibition announcement, the show runs from March 14, 2026 to August 2, 2026 and occupies large parts of the building. Museum Ludwig exhibition information

Retrospective at Museum Ludwig

The Cologne exhibition at Museum Ludwig presents Yayoi Kusama’s practice across painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, fashion, performance and literature, totaling more than three hundred works. Museum Ludwig 2026 press kit describes the show as a key part of the institution’s fiftieth-anniversary program.

The exhibition, titled simply Yayoi Kusama, runs from March 14, 2026 to August 2, 2026, with an opening on March 13, 2026. It forms the second venue in a three-part touring retrospective that also includes Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Touring show across three museums

The retrospective began at Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland from October 12, 2025 to January 25, 2026, then moved to Museum Ludwig and will continue to the Stedelijk Museum, where the exhibition opens on September 11, 2026 and runs until January 17, 2027. The Stedelijk emphasizes that the collaboration illuminates over seven decades of Kusama’s work. Stedelijk Museum announcement

Across the three institutions, the presentation traces Kusama’s evolution from her early years in Japan to her New York period and later work in Tokyo, with immersive installations, large-format paintings and room-scale environments that have become core to her museum presence.

The artist in her own museum

Beyond Cologne, Yayoi Kusama’s practice is continuously on view at the dedicated Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The current exhibition KUSAMA’s POP runs from April 16, 2026 to August 30, 2026 and is structured as timed entry in 90-minute slots. The museum’s exhibition page specifies opening hours from 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Thursday to Sunday. Yayoi Kusama Museum current exhibition

The show at her own museum foregrounds Kusama’s connection to Pop Art, linking her 1960s New York years with her later paintings and installations. It complements the large-scale European retrospectives by focusing closely on stylistic development within a compact five-floor building.

How the artist works

Yayoi Kusama’s practice spans painting, sculpture, performance, installation and writing, with recurring motifs such as polka dots, pumpkins and mirrored infinity rooms. Large work groups like Infinity Net paintings, Dots Obsession environments, her pumpkin sculptures and immersive Infinity Mirror Rooms have shaped her presence in major museums.

Where the artist stands now

Within the current 30-day window, Kusama’s major institutional presence centers on the ongoing KUSAMA’s POP exhibition at the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo, which remains open through August 30, 2026.

This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.