Phoenix Art Museum Installation

Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room: Dissolve into a Swarm of Fireflies

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

By the Wicked Cool Places editors · Published Thu, Mar 19, 2026 · Updated Fri, Aug 28, 2026

Why it’s cool

This permanent installation uses hundreds of LED lights and mirrored surfaces to create a disorienting, endless void where the boundary between the viewer and the cosmos disappears.

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Tiny blue and green lights reflect infinitely in a dark mirror room, creating the appearance of a starry night sky.

Within a quiet corner of the Phoenix Art Museum, the boundaries of the physical world seem to evaporate. Stepping into Yayoi Kusama’s installation, her hypnotic "Dancing Swarm of Fireflies" mirror room, is less like entering a room and more like floating through a digital nebula.

The artist, a titan of the avant-garde who rose to prominence in the 1960s New York art scene, has spent decades exploring themes of infinity and the "self-obliteration" of the individual. This specific work brings those abstract concepts to life through a masterful use of light and reflection.

Why It Stands Out

Kusama’s career is as legendary as her art. After staging provocative "happenings" in New York, often involving polka dots and political protests, she returned to Japan in the 1970s.

Since then, she has lived and worked from a psychiatric hospital, producing some of the most sought-after contemporary art in the world. This permanent installation in Phoenix captures the essence of her vision.

It remains a standout cultural destination in the Southwest. The space is a 25-foot square chamber designed to trick the human eye.

The walls are entirely lined with mirrors, while the floor is crafted from polished black granite and the ceiling from dark plexiglass. Suspended from above are 250 dangling LED lights that cycle through a spectrum of colors.

Because every surface reflects the glow, the small room feels like an endless, shimmering void. The title isn't just poetic; it describes the literal sensation of the viewer’s silhouette being swallowed by the rhythmic pulsing of the "fireflies." It is a rare opportunity to stand at the center of a masterpiece that challenges your perception of time and space.

Fans of surrealist art might also enjoy visiting the Salvador Dalí Museum.

Before You Go

You can find this immersive experience within the Phoenix Art Museum's Contemporary Art Wing. The museum is located just off North Central Avenue in the heart of downtown Phoenix.

Another unique local landmark is the Mystery Castle. While the installation is permanent, the museum's overall hours and ticket requirements apply.

It is a popular spot, so be prepared for a brief wait to enter the room, as the experience is most impactful when viewed in small groups or alone.

Questions worth answering

What makes the room feel so vast?

The space uses a 25-foot square layout lined with mirrors to trick your eyes. Polished black granite and dark plexiglass reflect 250 hanging LED lights to create a sense of endlessness.

Who is the artist behind the installation?

Yayoi Kusama is an avant-garde figure who became famous in the 1960s New York scene. She has spent decades working from a psychiatric hospital in Japan while producing these globally sought-after pieces.

Where exactly do we find this exhibit?

Head to the Contemporary Art Wing inside the Phoenix Art Museum. The building sits near North Central Avenue in the downtown area.

What should we expect when we arrive?

You might have to wait a bit since the experience works best alone or in tiny groups. We started with a source attribution and built our own editorial from there.

Visit Snapshot

Head to the Contemporary Art Wing at the Phoenix Art Museum to find the installation. The museum is situated near North Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Know before you go

The exhibit is located in the Contemporary Art Wing of the Phoenix Art Museum, just off of North Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

Editorial source

Yayoi Kusama Firefly Infinity Mirror Room

The 89-year-old Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama is finally getting her due as one of the greatest living artists in the world. Having moved to New York just in time for the exploding avant-garde art movement of the 1960s, Kusama was known for her wild “happenings.” She staged large events featuring nude people covered in polka dots, opened a nude painting studio and social club, and once wrote a letter to Richard Nixon offering to have vigorous sex with him if he stopped the Vietnam War.

Yet despite being a darling of New York’s counterculture art scene, Kusama was largely forgotten after moving back to Japan in 1973 for health issues, where she voluntarily took up residence in a hospital for the mentally ill. Kusama never stopped making art, but it wasn’t until the early 1990s that her work began to gain international recognition once again.

It has been on a steady upward climb since. Working from the hospital, she sold a piece of artwork in 2008 for $5.1 million, setting a record for the highest price paid to a living female artist.

Fans can now once again experience Kusama’s wild and wonderful work in person, at an installation appropriately entitled “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies.” Installed permanently at the Phoenix Art Museum, the piece uses a 25-foot square space with mirror-lined walls, flooring of polished black granite, a black plexiglass ceiling, and 250 dangling LED lights programmed with alternating color. The effect is ethereal and expansive.

Like much of Kusama’s work, your sense of self, space, and time are overwhelmed and nearly obliterated by visual force.

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