Art Hag

I debated for weeks about whether I wanted to stand in line for Yayoi Kusama's latest blockbuster exhibit at David Zwirner, Every Day I Pray For Love. Ultimately FOMO got the best of me, so I bundled up and headed over to 537 West 20th Street this chilly morning to join the crowd.

About 30 people were already waiting outside when I arrived at the gallery at 9:35am. The early birds at the head of the queue said that they had been waiting since 8am. Once the doors opened at 10am, 25 people were ushered inside. Fortunately the line moved quickly and I made my way in at 10:15am and waited in another brief line for the exhibit's main attraction—INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019).

Gallery staff led groups of four into the immersive installation for one minute at a time. Once inside the mirrored box, dozens of strings of dangling lights slowly transition from shades of cool white to warm red. Reflected in the mirrors, the orbs of light seem to go on forever, like thousands of twinkling stars. The allotted minute goes by quickly, so be sure to take a second to enjoy the experience in between taking selfies.

After exiting the Infinity Room, visitors are free to roam the rest of the exhibition which features one of Kusama's signature pumpkins, several new paintings from her My Eternal Soul series, as well as 90 floor-based stainless steel sculptures entitled Clouds (2019).

On the second level, a gallery showcases six charming, spiky soft sculptures as well as a series of cast aluminum pieces. Don't miss the side gallery where veiled behind a heavy black curtain stands Ladder To Heaven, a nearly 13-foot-high ladder illuminated by LEDs. Peering into circular mirrors placed on the ceiling above the structure and on the floor beneath it, viewers will see an illusion of the ladder extending ad infinitum.

Kusama's exploration into an "eternal unlimited universe" offers fun immersive experiences and quirky, hallucinatory works, though only die-hard Kusama fanatics will likely find it worthwhile to spend an eternity in line for the exhibit. (I waited 90 minutes for her Festival of Light exhibition in 2017.) Try going on a weekday when the wait times are shorter. Plan accordingly by visiting davidzwirner.com where there is more info about the artist, a handy FAQ section, as well as a link to the Twitter thread that provides estimated wait times for the line.

Yayoi Kusama, Every Day I Pray For Love is on view from November 9 through December 14, 2019.

INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE, 2019

New paintings from Kusama's My Eternal Soul series and some sculptures from Clouds

Pumpkin, 2019

Three of Kusama's soft sculptures and works from her SOULS OF WOMEN THAT CONTINUE FOREVER (2019) made of cast aluminum and urethane paint

Kusama's soft sculptures and works from her SOULS OF WOMEN THAT CONTINUE FOREVER (2019) made of cast aluminum and urethane paint. Her painting WE WHO ARE CAPTIVATED BY THE UTMOST BEAUTY OF EVERYTHING WE KNOW AND SHED TEARS AS WE WERE MONSTROUSLY TOUCHED BY THE MYSTERY OF THE BEAUTY (2019) is displayed on the far wall.