The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA Chicago) has opened a comprehensive retrospective exhibition showcasing seven decades of Yoko Ono's groundbreaking artistic career. "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" features more than 200 works spanning multiple mediums, including participatory instruction pieces, musical scores, large-scale installations, a specially curated music room, films, photography, and extensive archival materials. The exhibition will remain on display through February 22, 2026, offering visitors an unprecedented opportunity to explore Ono's innovative contributions to contemporary art.
The retrospective documents Ono's artistic journey beginning in the mid-1950s and traces her pivotal role in avant-garde circles across New York, Tokyo, and London. The exhibition particularly emphasizes her development of instruction pieces and her active participation in the formation of Fluxus, the influential art collective and movement that emerged in New York during the early 1960s. This groundbreaking show reveals how Ono's innovative approach to language, art, and audience participation continues to resonate with contemporary audiences and speak to current cultural moments.
Among the exhibition's highlights are several of Ono's most significant works that have shaped performance and conceptual art. The show features "Cut Piece" (1964), widely recognized as a landmark achievement in both performance art and feminist art history. Visitors can also explore her collaborative works with renowned musicians including experimental composer John Cage, jazz innovator Ornette Coleman, and her late husband, Beatles member John Lennon. The exhibition includes selected activations of instruction-based artworks from her influential 1964 publication "Grapefruit," which has inspired generations of conceptual artists.
The retrospective showcases Ono's innovative film work from the 1960s and 1970s, including her experimental piece "FLY" (1970-71) and the controversial "Film No.4 (Bottoms)" (1966-67), which was banned upon its initial release. Contemporary works are also prominently featured, including her ongoing "Wish Tree" installation series that began in 1996 and continues to the present day. The exhibition also highlights public artworks that demonstrate Ono's unwavering commitment to peace activism throughout her career.
A central component of the exhibition involves several participatory artworks that invite direct audience engagement. Visitors can interact with iconic pieces such as "Painting to Hammer a Nail" (1961/1966), "Bag Piece" (1964), and "White Chess Set" (1966). More recent participatory works include "Add Color (Refugee Boat)" (1960/2016), which encourages guests to write their hopes and beliefs on a white boat installation and its surrounding elements. Another interactive piece, "My Mommy Is Beautiful" (2004), provides the public with an opportunity to share personal thoughts about their relationships with their mothers and motherhood while contributing photographs to the installation.
The exhibition's impact extends beyond the museum walls through public activations of Ono's peace-driven artworks displayed on billboards throughout Chicago and on the MCA Chicago premises. These public installations demonstrate how Ono's message of peace and social consciousness continues to engage with urban environments and broader communities.
"Yoko Ono is a wildly influential and significant figure in performance, conceptualism, music, and activism. She has inspired generations of audiences to think differently about the everyday and seeing art," said Manilow Senior Curator Jamillah James. "It is an honor to host this wide-ranging exhibition, which is a critical opportunity that invites the public to deeply engage with Ono's many important contributions to visual art in new and exciting ways."
"Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" was originally organized by Tate Modern in London, working in collaboration with Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf. The comprehensive retrospective represents a major cultural event for Chicago's art scene and provides American audiences with their first opportunity to experience this particular exhibition format. For more information about the exhibition, visiting hours, and related programming, interested visitors can access details at mcachicago.org.
