Art & Exhibitions
Kusama Fans Sleep Outside Museo Tamayo to See Show
The Central and South American version of Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective Infinite Obsession ended triumphantly in Mexico City last weekend, after a whirlwind tour, which took it from Rio to Brasilia and São Paulo (see South America Goes Dotty for Kusama). An estimated 2.5 million people visited the exhibition. To cope with the demand, Mexico City’s Museo Tamayo stayed open for 36 hours straight during the last two days.
According to the Art Newspaper, the 800 remaining tickets sold instantly, and Kusamaniacs pitched tents outside the museum in a desperate attempt to get in. A staggering 10,000 people made it to the show in the last weekend, with some visitors getting in only minutes before 10 pm on Sunday evening.
The show has been so popular that it proved a real challenge for the Museo Tamayo, which isn’t used to dealing with such visitors numbers (see Yayoi Kusama Retrospective Becomes Security Nightmare in Mexico).
To say that 85-year-old Japanese artist has the winds in her sails would be an understatement. While museumgoers are queuing to get in, collectors from every continent are hoping to get their hands on Kusama’s psychedelic creations. According to artnet Analytics, in just 10 years, Kusama’s total sales by value have risen more than 262 percent, from $931,446 in 2004 to $35,455,059 in 2014 (see Why Are Yayoi Kusama’s Works Selling Like Hotcakes?).
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