Entry No. 36 — the Raleigh file — filed under: art
Yayoi Kusama's "Light of Life"
Tucked into the permanent collection of the NCMA, this mirrored hexagonal chamber invites viewers to peer through portholes into a kaleidoscopic, self-reflective infinity room of shifting LED patterns.
The story
Most Yayoi Kusama installations force you through a precise ritual: wait in a two-hour queue, step into a mirrored box for 45 seconds under the watchful eye of a timed docent, and get ushered out before your eyes fully adapt. "Light of Life" quietly sidesteps that frenzy. Sitting in the contemporary galleries of the North Carolina Museum of Art's West Building, this freestanding hexagonal structure isn't a room you walk into—it is an infinite universe locked inside a box that you peer into.
Acquired by the museum following the most-attended contemporary exhibition in its history—and made possible by the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation—the work uses interior mirror panels and a sequence of shifting LED lights. Three circular viewing portholes are cut into the sides at distinct heights: one low, one medium, one high. Lean in and press your face near the glass, and the interior opens up into a vast, kaleidoscopic grid that completely erases the exterior gallery around you.
The real secret isn't just watching the programmed light patterns cycle; it is using the geometry against itself. If you stand on one side while a partner peers through a porthole at a different height, the internal reflections don't just multiply the lights—they grab your companion's eyes and face, scattering dozens of fractured, floating iterations of them across the dark void.
What it's like
Head straight to West Building at 2110 Blue Ridge Road. Because admission to NCMA's permanent collection is completely free, you bypass the ticket paywalls and insane timed reservations that usually accompany Kusama's work in larger metropolitan areas. The hexagonal chamber sits right in the gallery space. Crowds are generally thin enough that you can linger without someone breathing down your neck. Press close enough to the portholes to block out the ambient room light, and give it a full minute or two—the LED sequences shift intensity and color, changing the illusion from a quiet deep-space void to an intense, pulsating light grid.
The move: Peer through the portholes at different heights simultaneously to see a dazzling, infinite play of light and each other's multiple reflections.
- 📍 Raleigh
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2110 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky — Walk out of the gallery and straight into the surrounding museum park to trade Kusama's internal mirrored LEDs for a turf-roofed stone camera obscura projecting the live sky.
- Lightship Neon — Keep your focus on manipulated, glowing light just over a mile away by visiting a working studio dedicated to the craft of neon and glass bending.
- Dorothea Dix Hospital Cemetery — Balance the slick, self-reflective geometry of modern contemporary art with a quiet, sobering walk through three acres of historic hospital grounds nearby.
Good to know
Do I need a ticket or reservation to see 'Light of Life'?
No. The piece is part of the museum's permanent collection in West Building, which is entirely free to visit without advance tickets.
Can you step inside the sculpture?
No. Unlike some of Kusama's walk-in infinity rooms, 'Light of Life' is a enclosed hexagonal box viewed entirely from the outside through three portholes cut at different heights.
Where is it located within the museum complex?
It is located in the permanent contemporary art galleries inside West Building at 2110 Blue Ridge Road.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: ncartmuseum.org · visitraleigh.com · learn.ncartmuseum.org · newsobserver.com
last checked: 2026-07-21