FRONT, Kusama and other great NEO shows made 2018 a year to remember in the visual arts
Dec. 30, 2018
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Two big words sum up 2018 in the visual arts in Cleveland: FRONT and Kusama.
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s show on the immersive “infinity” mirrored rooms of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama created a nearly feverish rock-star atmosphere at Ohio’s flagship art museum during the summer.
Visitors provided free social media advertising for the touring exhibit, snapping zillions of cellphone selfies amid seemingly endless reflected vistas of twinkling lights and glittering globes.
"The American Library," an installation by British artist Yinka Shonibare, was a major piece commissioned by the FRONT International. Shown in Brett Hall at the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library downtown, the work consisted of 6,000 volumes covered with colorful African wax cloth in which the names of U.S. immigrants were printed. The work was a cultural literacy test to see how many of the names a viewer recognized. Photo: Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer