Japanese artist Kusama's retrospective to start in Amsterdam

The exhibition, previewed for the press Wednesday, will showcase more than 300 works created by the renowned artist over decades, from her childhood to later years. They include early paintings and woodblock prints, as well as works using her signature polka-dot motifs, pumpkin sculptures and "Infinity Mirror Rooms" installations.

"We have never used so much space for one artist," Rein Wolfs, director of the Amsterdam museum, said.

The Dutch city is the final venue for the three-stop retrospective, which has toured Basel in Switzerland and Cologne in Germany. The exhibition in Amsterdam will run until Jan. 17 next year.

Leontine Coelewij, a curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, said that preparations for the event with Kusama's team started about four years ago and that the artist had approved the exhibition's concept. Kusama also offered ideas on the selection and arrangement of the works to be displayed.

According to Coelewij, Kusama looked forward to the exhibition and wanted it to be "like a celebration" for her art.

The content of the exhibition was left unchanged after her death as it was developed in collaboration with Kusama. "It changed into a tribute to her life, a tribute to her work," Coelewij said.