Yayoi Kusama is taking over NYC with yet another fabulous piece of art, and this time she’s hitting the streets with a massive balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The iconic artist is working with balloon specialists to create a vibrant novelty balloon titled “Love Flies Up To The Sky.” The floating artwork pulls from motifs that appear in Kusama’s My Eternal Soul series. As the announcement describes it, “the paintings embody Kusama’s innovative exploration of form and revolve around a tension between abstraction and figuration.”
The balloon’s design seems to have tentacles (or perhaps sun rays?) coming out from the center which features an abstract face and, of course, plenty of Kusama’s signature polka dots. Macy’s says there’s actually 300 hand-painted dots on the unique masterpiece.
In a statement made by the Executive Producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Susan Tercero said:
“In 2005, we began featuring inflatable artworks by the world’s most renowned contemporary artists in the Macy’s Parade lineup with the hope of bringing fine art to the masses and making it more accessible. This year the world’s most popular living female artist, the iconic Yayoi Kusama, joins the Parade’s acclaimed Blue Sky Gallery series of balloons, making these creations a collection of high-flying art worthy of museums around the world. We can’t wait for millions to enjoy the hypnotic, colorful and whimsical beauty of Love Flies Up to the Sky this Thanksgiving.”
And we can’t wait to see what it looks like in all its gorgeous polka-dotted glory next month!
Kusama’s balloon debut will take place during the same time that her Infinity Mirror Room exhibit will be open at the David Zwirner Gallery, which runs from November 9th through December 14th. Kusama will continue her NYC takeover with a huge exhibit spanning the 250-acres of NYBG next spring.
featured image source: Yayoi Kusama in her studio, 2019 / David Zwirner Gallery