Yayoi Kusama in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

This Thanksgiving, Yayoi Kusama joins the legendary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade  in New York. On Thursday, November 26, 2020, Kusama’s Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon will appear in the annual holiday spectacle in front of more than 50 million viewers nationwide, as the latest entry in the Parade’s Blue Sky Gallery series, which invites celebrated contemporary artists to contribute artworks to the high flying lineup.

The Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon was developed by the artist from face motifs that appear in her My Eternal Soul series of paintings—a body of work that she began in 2009. Vibrant and animated, the paintings embody Kusama’s innovative exploration of form and revolve around a tension between abstraction and figuration. The artist’s signature dots—which recur throughout her practice—also feature prominently in the Macy’s Parade balloon design.

Yayoi Kusama: Every Day I Pray for Love, now available for preorder from David Zwirner Books, is the artist's most personal book to date. Kusama brings us into her private world through poetic recollections, giving insight into her creative process and the essential role language plays in her paintings, sculptures, and daily life.

Image: Yayoi Kusama, Love Flies Up to the Sky, 2019