2024 Love is Calling, Yayoi Kusama: A New Space & New Lounge in West Loop at WNDR Museum ChicagoNEW

What's new?  The WNDR Museum, Chicago’s original immersive art and technology experience in the West Loop, has unveiled a reimagined atrium. This space now features Yayoi Kusama’s LOVE IS CALLING installation and a relocated WNDR Lounge, which offers a variety of local fare to both ticketed and non-ticketed visitors.

“At WNDR Museum, we continually seek new and exciting ways to ignite curiosity and creativity in our guests,” said Brad Keywell of WNDR Museum. “The revamped WNDR Lounge and the addition of Kusama’s latest work reflect our dedication to making world-class art accessible while creating a community hub in Chicago.”

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About Love is Calling
WNDR’s largest infinity room to date by artist and global icon Yayoi Kusama, LOVE IS CALLING, invites visitors into a dark, mirrored room illuminated by inflatable forms that extend from the floor and ceiling. These soft sculptures are covered in Kusama's iconic polka dots and pulsate with a dynamic, shifting palette of colors, ranging from neon greens and pinks to deep blues and purples. The mirrored walls create an illusion of infinite space, as the colorful, dotted tentacles seem to stretch out endlessly in all directions, surrounding the viewer in a surreal, otherworldly environment. LOVE IS CALLING premiered in Japan in 2013. Its installation at WNDR Museum Chicago will mark the work’s Chicago debut.

Accompanying the visual spectacle of LOVE IS CALLING is an audio component of Kusama’s voice reciting a love poem in Japanese. The poem, whose title translates to “Residing in a Castle of Shed Tears," was written by the artist herself, reflecting her contemplations on love, existence, and the cosmos, adding an introspective and emotional layer to the sensory experience.

About the WNDR Lounge
The newly-unveiled WNDR Lounge will feature both bar and lounge-style seating, offering an assortment of local food and beverage offerings including coffee, soda, cocktails and snacks. Accessible to both ticketed and non-ticketed guests from a designated entrance on Monroe St., the WNDR Lounge is open during regular WNDR Museum hours.

In addition to the WNDR Lounge, the WNDR Shop, also located in WNDR Museum’s atrium, features an assortment of unique goods from local makers, artists and nonprofit organizations alongside special WNDR-branded merchandise and collaborations.

About Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama, born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, Japan, is a celebrated contemporary artist known for her polka dots and “infinity nets.” Struggling with hallucinations and obsessive thoughts since childhood, she channeled these experiences into her art. Moving to New York City in 1957, she became a key figure in the pop art, minimalism, and feminist art movements. Kusama’s work spans painting, sculpture, and installations, earning her international acclaim. Today, she is recognized as one of the most influential artists of her time.