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Sreenivasan: Her work has been described as transformative, both for the observer and for her exhibit's surroundings. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's latest exhibition, postponed initially because of the pandemic, aptly uses a 250 acre landscape as the setting for her exhibit, "Cosmic nature." Newshour weekend's Christopher Booker has more.
Reporter: There is a strange, yet seemingly natural symmetry in Yayoi Kusama's takeover of the New York Botanical Garden. It may be wrapped around the trees, sitting in the fountains or nestled between tropical plants, but against the backdrop of the annual spring explosion of flowers and leaves, the work seems nowhere near out of place. The shapes and colors of the bronx garden provides a natural runway for the unmistakable works of one of the world's most famous living artists. But at 92, Kusama seldom travels, so bringing her work to the world has, in recent years, fallen on curator Mika Yoshitake. There's a very visceral connection to nature that you'll see in her forms. It almost feels kinetic. Buds are about to bloom and there's this threshold between the botanical and the cosmic world.
Reporter: Originally scheduled to open last spring, "Kusama: Cosmic nature" spans over 70 years of her work, from this 1945 sketch to 2020's "Dancing pumpkin." So, when you're going through looking at this space, what are you thinking? What are you looking to understand or to figure out? Well, with Kusama's work, the interaction with the sun, the glass, the sky and the reflective nature of some of her works is very key. The botanical gardens really did determine which kind of pieces we would select. So, like the ascension of polka dots on trees, I think what we discover is how Kusama's work really enhances the botanical landscape. So there is a dialog between the two. Her work is not blending in with the natural environment, it's really its own. It holds its own.
Reporter: For Kusama, this dialogue between the botanical and ethereal started early. Growing up, her family ran a nursery business in Matsumoto, Japan. You met and started working on this project before the coronavirus pandemic. Did you find yourself or did the gallery find itself second guessing what work to include, especially as we're talking about relationships with nature and our existence? So, the pandemic forced a lot of changes, especially in this building, in the way that the crowd would, you know, flow, but, you know, I think the pandemic has really been eye opening in terms of... Just more philosophically, we're not self-contained bodies. You know, we coexist with the natural environment. And I think that the work that Kusama provides reminds us of that vulnerability and the coexistence of nature, human nature and cosmic nature.
Reporter: Where does this show then fit into her long story? Is this a culmination of a life's work? Is this just another show within a life's work? It's a comprehensive, the first comprehensive examination of her engagement with nature. That calm, contemplative walk in between is as important as the work itself.
Reporter: "Kusama: Cosmic nature" Will be on display until october 31.
