Kusama's last hands-on exhibition opens at Stedelijk in Amsterdam

A final exhibition shaped with Yayoi Kusama before her death has opened at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

The touring retrospective runs from 11 September 2026 to 17 January 2027, the museum says. It is described as the last exhibition in which Kusama herself had a hand before her death, according to Artnet.

The Stedelijk said the planned show has become a posthumous tribute celebrating her life and work. The statement, published on 27 August 2026, reframed a long-planned survey as a farewell. The museum describes the project as a landmark retrospective.

The exhibition spans more than seven decades of work. A retrospective, in museum terms, is a survey that follows an artist across a career rather than focusing on one period. Here that story starts with early work made in Japan, before Kusama left for the United States.

The New York midcentury years form a central section. It includes her Infinity Nets, looping painted grids that spread across whole canvases, alongside objects covered in soft sculpted protrusions. Later rooms trace her experiments from the 1970s and 1980s after she resettled in Japan, a less widely shown chapter that connects the early and late work.

Curator Leontine Coelewij said Kusama was enthusiastic about the Amsterdam show. She weighed in through her studio. Feedback came back to the museum team as the checklist and layout were finalised.

The show closes with something new. Visitors travel by escalator to reach The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe, a new Infinity Room made for the exhibition. Infinity Rooms are mirrored chambers, often dotted with lights, that reflect images into apparently endless space. The exhibition also includes recent paintings dated to 2025 and reportedly made from bed.

For visitors, the practical details are straightforward. The museum is open Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission to the Kusama exhibition is €22.50 for adults and €12.50 for students, according to ticketing information on the Stedelijk Museum website.

What makes this stand out is the direct link to the artist. Many retrospectives are organised after the fact. This one was seen and commented on by Kusama herself.