I recently visited the Pipilotti Rist and Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Neues Museum in Nuremberg. I’ve followed Rist’s work for years and appreciate how she uses video to question gender and identity. This exhibition brought together two distinct artistic worlds, presented in a thoughtfully curated and immersive way.

Photo: Christine Meiler

Humor and Critique in Moving Images

Pipilotti Rist’s videos combine vibrant imagery with social commentary, often using humor to approach feminist themes. Her editing style—close-ups, digital effects, unexpected perspectives—invites viewers to see the body and everyday life differently. At the museum, I also watched her film Pepperminta, which added a playful narrative to her visual language.

Two Generations, Two Perspectives

Yayoi Kusama’s work is deeply connected to her personal experience, including her lifelong struggles with mental health. Themes of trauma, repetition, and perception run through her use of polka dots and spatial installations. Her ideas were ahead of their time and often appropriated by male artists like Andy Warhol, who achieved greater recognition in a male-dominated art world. Seeing her work alongside Rist’s offers a strong contrast in media but a shared sense of resistance, identity exploration, and artistic innovation.

Photo: Christine Meiler

Exhibition Details

The exhibition runs until 21.09.2025 at Neues Museum, in collaboration with Sammlung Goetz. It includes installations, films, paintings, and photographs from both artists. More information can be found on the museum’s website:

More information on the exhibition