The sculpture, which is an iteration of two others previously put on display in Qatar and New York, has been acquired by the NGV through the Loti & Victor Smorgon Fund and will become a main feature of the planned sculpture garden at the new NGV Contemporary precinct, due to open to the public in 2028.
Crothers said the exhibition, which will also include archival materials and artworks from Kusama’s private collection, will be the largest exhibition for a practising artist, a female artist and an Asian artist ever held at the NGV.
Kusama’s pink and black waterfall artwork at the NGV.Credit: Luis Ascui
Kusama, who grew up on a seed and plant farm in Matsumoto, in regional Japan, began painting pumpkins (technically a fruit, not a vegetable) in her teenage years. Pumpkins – and, later on, polka dots – became an iconic part of her creative expression, which continued to evolve as she experimented with her art.
“She has often talked about how she is very emotionally attached to this sort of humble vegetable, that provided nourishment in the austerity years after the Second World War,” senior curator of international exhibitions Miranda Wallace said.
“To see this late variation of the pumpkin dancing, taking up this sort of carefree, joyous movement that you see in the sculpture … it’s really inspiring to see an artist still engaging with this idea over the years.”
Yayoi Kusama. Her NGV show has been five years in preparation.Credit: Yusuke Miyazaki/Ota Fine Arts
Wallace said Kusama had even written poems about pumpkins, which will also be on display at the gallery. The exhibition will also include archival materials, huge inflatables on display in the Great Hall, a free kids exhibition, and artworks from Kusama’s private collection.
Over the next few weeks, staff from the galleries, museums, and collections lending Kusama’s pieces to the NGV will travel to Melbourne to help set up the ticketed exhibition, which will run from December 15 to April 21.
However, visitors to the gallery can see Dancing Pumpkin and a pink and black polka-dot artwork designed for the NGV waterfall for free from Saturday. Additional pieces such as a sprawling installation of 1400 mirrored spheres will also be on display, free of charge, from December 15.
“I think it’s incredibly engaging visually and in its form,” Wallace said. “I think people will be drawn like a magnet to this sculpture.”
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