“The passion that I and those at the NYBG have poured into this exhibition is still burning. Everyone, I hope you will wait. We aspire for endless love permeated with everyone’s hearts of human love, a wish for peace in the world, our dreams, and wonders of hope—it is our wish that this exhibition can offer these as its greatest gift. I hope you can wait.”

92-year-old artist Yayoi Kusama shared these words in April 2020 when her exhibition, KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature , scheduled to open the following May at the New York Botanical Garden, was postponed when everything shut down due to the pandemic.  I was first able to see it this past May when it finally opened. I wasn’t all that familiar with her work, although I was aware of her polka dots.  The first of her pieces I encountered was the kitschy but cute I Want to Fly to the Universe . 

I Want to Fly to the Universe

The polka dots quickly made their appearance as Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees in the guise of a row of London plane trees wrapped in polka-dotted red and white nylon cloth. “I convert the energy of life into dots of the universe. And that energy, along with love, flies into the sky,” she says. More of her pieces below. (click to view fill-sized images)

Flower Obsession

Life

Hymn of Life—Tulips

Kusama’s work is the featured attraction of the NYBG but the gardens themselves were spectacular. The allée of tulip poplars leading up to the grand Library Building took my friend and me aback. We were familiar with individual specimens around Central Park (they attract migrating songbirds in the spring) but never saw such a large collection of mature trees. The allée was planted in 1903 according to an 1895 design by Calvert Vaux, Central Park’s architect. I’m glad we encountered them when we did because they are beyond the ends of their natural lives. The Garden began replacing damaged and sick trees last year and will continue to do so through 2024. All manner of towering mature trees live throughout the gardens. 

Another Kusama work, Narcissus Garden, a collection of steel balls floating on the surface of a waterbody, was set in the small pond of the Native Plant garden. One of her older pieces, it first appeared at the Venice Biennale in 1966. What really excited me, though, was a collection of carnivorous pitcher plants guarding the edge of the pond. Not having had the opportunity to stalk these bizarre plants “in the wild,” this was a nice surprise. 

Narcissus Garden

And, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, wow! Its design dates back to a 1926 plan by Beatrix Farrand, an important early female landscape designer (she worked on Conservatory Garden in Central Park, among others.) Because of World War I and subsequent issues, the rose garden wasn’t fully-actualized to the original specs until 1988. David Rockefeller was approached in the 1980s to help fund the garden’s completion. It was named for his wife, Peggy, a horticulturist who loved roses. At the time of our visit, its 1.04 acres was abloom with 750 different varieties of roses (4000 plants), ancient and modern. A feast of beautiful colors, intoxicating fragrance, and happy insects, the rose garden blooms from May through October.

The New York Botanical Gardens has so much to see and experience, I really didn’t scratch the surface: the vast Conservatory, the Thain old-growth forest with its Bronx River waterfall and old tobacco mill, the enormous conifers, amazing azalea bushes. There’s plenty of material for more articles! It’s a great place to visit and accessible to non-drivers by the Metro-North railroad and a few subway lines. KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature is on display through October 31, 2021. I recommend purchasing a ticket that includes both the indoor and outdoor exhibits: https://www.nybg.org. After your visit, head over to Arthur Avenue for a nice Italian meal! 

Pumpkins Screaming About Love…

Dancing Pumpkin