Infinity Mirrored Room – My Heart is Dancing into the Universe, 2018. Wood and glass mirrored room with paper lanterns. 304 x 622.4 x 622.4 cm 119 5/8 x 245 1/8 x 245 1/8 in. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. © Yayoi Kusama.
Photo: Courtesy, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
A new season is upon us, and with it comes three new experiences at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Museum officials this week announced a new acquisition called Infinity Mirrored Room – My Heart is Dancing into the Universe by artist Yayoi Kusama, an exhibition titled Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today, and an immersive outdoor light experience called North Forrest Light will be added to the museum’s offerings this fall.
“With the breadth of these new must-see offerings, Crystal Bridges is excited to bring visitors together to explore elements such as light and crystals through art in the museum’s natural setting,” said Rod Bigelow, Crystal Bridges executive director & chief diversity and inclusion officer. “We can’t wait share the brilliant work of Kusama in an intimate space, expand the conversation of crystals while highlighting local connections, and provide an exclusive outdoor light experience unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
Infinity Mirrored Room was created in 2018. The work is contained inside an enclosed room filled with mirrors and dotted, color-changing paper lanterns, creating an effect that makes it appear as though the dots expand forever into the universe.
Crystal Bridges acquired another of Kusama’s works, titled Flowers That Bloom Now, in 2018. That sculpture is currently located in the North Forest.
Infinity Mirrored Room will be located in the Contemporary Art Gallery, and will be on display for members only Aug. 31-Sept. 30. After that, it will be available to the public beginning Oct. 2. Each participant will only be allowed to view the installation for one minute.
Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today features more than 70 works of art and objects spanning from ancient times to the present day from all over the world. The collection explores the connections between crystals and art, and addresses recurring themes in the history of crystals such as “science and religion, art and medicine, aesthetic beauty and transformation” and others.
Alexis Arnold, Smithsonian Nature Guide: Rocks and Minerals, 2019. Book, borax 9 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 6 in.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
The exhibit is co-curated by Joachim Pissarro, director of the Hunter College Galleries and Bershad Professor of Art History at Hunter College, and Lauren Haynes, curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges and curator of visual arts at the Momentary.
Work from the exhibit comes from Egypt, Rome, China, and Europe, featuring artists like Andy Warhol, Marina Abramovi?, Ai Weiwei, Alexis Arnold, Olafur Eliasson, Cindy Sherman, and others.
The exhibit opens Oct. 12 and runs through Jan. 6, 2020. Tickets are free for members and youth aged 18 and younger, and $12 for the general public.
North Forest Lights is a nighttime exhibit located in the middle of the north forest created by Montreal-based studio Moment Factory. The experience includes five distinct installations designed to “bring the soul and rhythm of the forest to life with light, sound, and sensory effects for a captivating, unforgettable adventure.”
Forest Lumina, created by Montreal-based Moment Factory
Photo: Courtesy, Crystal Bridges
Here are the descriptions of the five light installations, as provided by Crystal Bridges
Crystal Grove – pixels of light appear through the trees in jewel-like fragments.
The Bridge – visitors will become enveloped in fog as lasers and lights give the illusion of water and mist flowing through the forest.
The Hearth – visitors are drawn to gather and commune around a digital fire pit, where a sculpture made of tree limbs and twigs appears to float as it is consumed by flames. The Hearth evokes the region’s spiritual heritage with hymnal and gospel rhythms and melodies that conjure a transcendent communion in the woods.
Whispering Tree – visitors are invited to engage in private dialogue with a massive tree as lighting effects respond to the conversation, for all to see.
Forest Orchestra – like an orchestra tuning itself into harmony with its surroundings, visitors will experience a variety of music styles from our region’s ragtime, to bluegrass, folk and classical traditions, which will be enhanced by a light show, to inspire a spirit of celebration. Music will be translated into a massive light show, like an orchestra tuning itself into harmony with its surroundings.
Tickets and more information about Northern Forest Lights will be announced as the exhibit gets closer.
For a bit more information about the new works, visit crystalbridges.org.
