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Hot New Installation at SAM Explores the Void

Tickets for the wildly anticipated exhibit lasted less than 24 hours.

Infinity-Mirrored-Room—All-the-Eternal-Love-I-Have-for-the-Pumpkins_2

This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

Infinity mirrors explores the work of avant-garde artist and activist Yayoi Kusama, and the huge impact her infinity rooms have had during her career. These immersive spaces, lined with mirrored glass and reflecting light, give viewers the illusion of perpetually floating in space. Tickets sold out in a day. While Kusama’s infinity mirrors are at the heart of the show, drawings and paintings she has created throughout her career are included, highlighting the evolution of an artist whom many consider a fearless pioneer. Born in Japan, she spent many years in New York City, where, many say, she directly influenced Andy Warhol, and where she became a fan of performance art. She returned to Japan in the ’70s, where she churned out a successful series of novels and anthologies. Now in her 80s, Kusama continues to be prolific, and this show is a reminder that there’s much more to the creator of the infinity room than meets the mirror. June 30 through September 10. Times and prices vary. Seattle Art Museum, downtown, 1300 First Ave.; 206.625.8900

 

Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards 

Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…

Studio Sessions: Ling Chun

Studio Sessions: Ling Chun

The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.

For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…

The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever

The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever

PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.

Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair.  I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…

Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026

Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026

Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.

Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…