Yayoi Kusama Retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Through January 17, 2027: The Third Venue After Basel and Cologne Becomes a Memorial Exhibition

The Yayoi Kusama retrospective “Yayoi Kusama” has been on view at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands since Friday, September 11, 2026, and runs until Sunday, January 17, 2027. It is the third stop on a tour that began at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland, in October 2025 and continued at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany, and the museum says it presents more than 70 years of work across two floors. Kusama died on August 14, before the opening, at the age of 97, and the museum says the retrospective has become a memorial exhibition celebrating her life and work. Based on press materials and official websites of the three museums, this article covers the tour itinerary, the layout of the Amsterdam exhibition and the ticketing and booking system.

The museum’s connection with Kusama dates back to the 1960s. According to the museum, Kusama spent long periods in the Netherlands in the 1960s, showing her work and forming close friendships with artists associated with the Dutch avant-garde group Nul. The museum holds the 1963 work “Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show,” made with a rowboat and oars, donated by the artist. In Japan, the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, has been holding a new exhibition since October 8. An international art exhibition in Tokyo with 20 participants including Kusama is introduced in our article on TOKYO ATLAS.

The tour: Three museums in Basel, Cologne and Amsterdam

The retrospective is co-organized by the Fondation Beyeler, the Museum Ludwig and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The Beyeler’s press materials of October 10, 2025 say it was prepared in close collaboration with the artist and her studio, and give the dates at the three museums as follows.

• Fondation Beyeler (Riehen/Basel, Switzerland): October 12, 2025 – January 25, 2026

• Museum Ludwig (Cologne, Germany): March 14 – August 2, 2026

• Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Amsterdam, the Netherlands): Friday, September 11, 2026 – Sunday, January 17, 2027

The Beyeler described the exhibition as the first major Kusama retrospective in Switzerland. It brought together more than 300 works from Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, France and Switzerland, more than 130 of which had never been shown in Europe. New works made for the occasion were added, and a new Infinity Mirror Room and immersive environments were created for the exhibition. It was curated by the museum’s curator-at-large, Mouna Mekouar. On December 4, 2025, midway through the run, the museum announced that it had drawn more than 120,000 visitors, the most in its history for an exhibition of a contemporary artist.

The Museum Ludwig held the retrospective in its 50th anniversary year. Its exhibition page said more than 300 works were on display and named the curator as Stephan Diederich. According to the museum’s materials on its 2026 exhibition program, Kusama installed a new Infinity Mirror Room for the museum, and the Cologne exhibition added several large installations not shown in Basel. The collection donated by Peter and Irene Ludwig when the museum opened in 1976 included works by Kusama.

The venues listed on the three museums’ official pages and materials are these three, and as of October 25 no venue after Amsterdam had been announced. The catalog, edited by the three museums’ curators, Leontine Coelewij, Diederich and Mekouar, was published by Hatje Cantz in Berlin.

The Amsterdam exhibition: More than 70 years across two floors

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam presents the exhibition across two of its floors. The museum says it traces her career from early works in Matsumoto through her groundbreaking work in New York to recent works made in Tokyo, showing the full range of Kusama’s practice: painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, collage, happenings, live performance, fashion and literature. Alongside key works, it includes early works shown in Europe for the first time and new works, including a new Infinity Mirror Room. The curator is the museum’s Leontine Coelewij.

The museum’s official page does not give the number of works. The Beyeler and the Museum Ludwig both said more than 300. The Museum Ludwig said it added large installations not shown in Basel, so the contents differ from venue to venue.

The museum’s exhibition page shows images of two mirror rooms made in 2025: “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe” and “Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart.” The latter is a 300 × 300 × 300 cm work combining mirror-polished stainless steel with glass mirrors and colored acrylic. According to the official FAQ, one of the mirror rooms is inspired by a traditional tea room and is entered by stepping up, so it is not wheelchair accessible, though the interior can be viewed through the entrance opening. Visitors can stay inside each mirror room for about 25 seconds, which may vary depending on visitor numbers.

The artist’s death: One of the last major exhibitions she was involved in

On August 27, 2026, Kusama’s official website announced that she had died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, at the age of 97. The announcement was issued in the names of Yayoi Kusama Inc. and Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc., and the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo posted the same notice.

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam also issued a statement on August 27, saying the upcoming retrospective had become a memorial exhibition celebrating Kusama’s life and work. Director Rein Wolfs called Kusama’s death deeply sad news and said that in her work the distinction between oneself and the surrounding world dissolves. Curator Coelewij called it a great honor to have created the exhibition in close collaboration with the artist and her studio. In its announcement of children’s events, the museum describes the exhibition as one of the last major exhibitions in which Kusama herself was involved.

The statement also looks back on Kusama’s career. Born in Matsumoto in 1929, she moved to New York in 1958 and worked in painting, sculpture, performance, installation, film and fashion. After 16 years in the United States, she returned to Japan in the 1970s and continued to work. The statement notes that her Infinity Mirror Rooms in particular brought her worldwide acclaim from the 2000s onward.

Tickets and booking: Timed entry, €32.50 for adults

According to the official FAQ, there are two types of tickets: “museum only” and “museum + Kusama exhibition.” To enter the Kusama exhibition, a timed ticket must be booked in advance from the official online shop. Noting the exhibition’s popularity, the museum recommends booking early time slots. Entry is not guaranteed for visitors who arrive later than their time slot.

Tickets including the Kusama exhibition cost €32.50 for adults and €17.50 for students (including CJP and EYCA holders), and are free for those 18 and under. Holders of the Dutch Museumkaart, the I amsterdam City Card and the GoCity Pass pay €10. The Kusama exhibition supplement is included in these prices and is valid for one entry. Members of the museum’s “Friends of the Stedelijk” can enter without a timed slot.

The museum is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, with the last time slot for the Kusama exhibition at 16:45. On some days it opens at 9:00. It is open on public holidays. Photography and video for personal use are permitted, including inside the mirror rooms, but flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not allowed. Bags must be no larger than A4, and free lockers are available for coats and small bags.

Related programs: Museum Night on November 7

The museum says its program for Amsterdam’s Museum Night on Saturday, November 7 will be devoted to the Kusama exhibition. “Stedelijk in Silence,” a guided mindfulness event for spending time with several Kusama works, is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, Saturday, December 5 and Saturday, January 2, 2027 (one was held on October 3).

During the autumn break, from October 10 to 18, the museum held “Stedelijk Kids Festival: Kusama” for children. Coinciding with the festival, it began showing “The Obliteration Room,” an installation in which visitors cover a white space with colorful round stickers.

Exhibition overview

Title: Yayoi Kusama
Dates: Friday, September 11, 2026 – Sunday, January 17, 2027
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last time slot for the Kusama exhibition 16:45; opens at 9:00 on some days)
Venue: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Museumplein 10, Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Admission: Tickets including the Kusama exhibition: adults €32.50, students €17.50, 18 and under free
Booking: Timed tickets booked in advance from the official online shop
Organizers: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Fondation Beyeler, Museum Ludwig
Curator: Leontine Coelewij
Official website: https://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/yayoi-kusama-en

Editor’s perspective

This tour, co-organized by three museums, visits three cities from October 2025 to January 2027, with gaps of a little over a month to about a month and a half between venues. While the catalog was co-edited by the three museums’ curators, each museum assigned its own curator for the display. The Museum Ludwig held it in its 50th anniversary year and, as a museum that acquired Kusama works through the 1976 donation, added large installations not shown in Basel and a new mirror room. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has its own ties: the 1960s exchanges with Nul and a work donated by the artist. The arrangement lets each museum keep a common framework while adapting the layout to its own history.

Each museum has also devised its own ways of handling crowds. From the opening, the Beyeler moved its daily opening time forward from the usual 10:00 to 9:00, and on some days in January 2026 extended closing from 18:00 to 20:00, adding timed-entry tickets. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam likewise uses timed tickets and limits stays in each mirror room to about 25 seconds. The Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo also sells tickets only in advance online, with entry in 90-minute sessions. Dividing entry by time to curb crowding at exhibitions of highly popular artists is a method common to museums in Japan and Europe.

Exhibitions in which viewers enter the space of the work are explained in our explainer on immersive art, and current and upcoming contemporary art exhibitions in Japan are compiled in our guide to contemporary art exhibitions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy tickets at the museum on the day?

The official FAQ asks visitors to book timed tickets in advance to enter the Kusama exhibition. Tickets are sold through the official online shop, and the FAQ says nothing about sales at the ticket desk. Entry is not guaranteed if you arrive late for your time slot.

Will it travel after Amsterdam?

The venues listed in the three museums’ official materials are the Fondation Beyeler, the Museum Ludwig and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. As of October 25, no venue after Amsterdam had been announced.

Where can Kusama’s work be seen in Japan?

The Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is holding an exhibition whose Japanese title translates roughly as “Light Bursts Forth, and All Sorts of Things Come Into View, Sparkling” until Sunday, January 31, 2027. It explores Kusama’s art through the theme of light and includes an outdoor sculpture of a ladder using mirrors, shown in Japan for the first time. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday and on national holidays, 11:00–17:30; admission is ¥1,100 for adults and ¥600 for ages 6–18. Tickets are sold only in advance online, with entry in 90-minute sessions. Tickets for entry two months ahead go on sale at 10:00 on the first of each month.

*Information as of October 25, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Installation view of “Yayoi Kusama” (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2026). Photo: Peter Tijhuis, © YAYOI KUSAMA (from the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam exhibition page)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and websites of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Fondation Beyeler and the Museum Ludwig, Yayoi Kusama’s official website and announcements by the Yayoi Kusama Museum (as of October 25, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team