The latest upcoming exhibition at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the hottest tickets in town – and you’ll be lucky if you’re able to score a set.
After sold-out stints in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Los Angeles in the past year, Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors will take over the AGO with its floor-to-ceiling, mirror-lined kaleidoscopic rooms from March 3 to May 27.
Of course, the immersive art exhibition is full of Instagram opportunities – and, frankly, that’s what inspires the mass appeal and subsequent newsworthiness (aside from her obvious talent, that is). Infinity Mirrors represents innovative explorations of time and space, and reflects the evolution of the 88-year-old Japanese artist’s 65-year career, showing her multi-reflective installations. Each room is filled with light and colour to create much-photographed, fantastic visions that inspire psychedelic moments of wonder (I know what a few visitors will be doing beforehand).
Guests can expect six different kaleidoscopic environments, in addition to Kusama’s intimate drawings, early paintings and sculptural objects.
For those not familiar, Yayoi Kusama – who used to roll in the same circles as Andy Warhol, Allan Kaprow in New York City in the 60s – is a pretty big deal in the art world. In 1993, she became the first woman to have a solo presentation at the Venice Biennale’s Japanese Pavilion. In 2016, she was named one of the world’s most influential by TIME magazine. Many claim she is only reaching her peak now.
The gallery has been overwhelmed with interest in the exhibit, with member pre-sales for the exhibit drawing a record interest. The first day of the pre-event sales, some gallery members complained of wait times of up to ten hours. The AGO has since vowed to modify the ticketing process for the next round of pre-sale on January 9.
Tickets to the anticipated exhibit will be available for sale online only through AGO.ca, with ticket sales open to the public on January 16 at 10 am at a limit of four per customer. Visitors can expect to wait in long lines (last month in New York, lineups were reportedly up to six hours long for her exhibit Festival of Life) and then only have 20 to 30 seconds inside each of the rooms. Yes, seconds. The good news? You won’t be crowded in your Instagram story-making and selfie-snapping – only four people are allowed in a room at the same time.
In the meantime, the #infinitekusama hashtag is worth following (especially so you can start planning your strategy for that epic selfie should you get your hands on tickets – you only have 30 seconds a pop to get it right, after all).
