Reported by 4 sources

The short version

  • Yayoi Kusama died on August 14 at age 97 in a Tokyo hospital, having voluntarily lived in a psychiatric facility for decades.
  • Her work, characterized by polka dots and infinity mirror rooms, became globally popular, breaking attendance records at major museums.
  • Kusama used art to cope with childhood hallucinations, creating a visual language that resonated with audiences worldwide.

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist renowned for her immersive "Infinity Mirror Rooms" and ubiquitous polka dots, has died at the age of 97. Her representatives announced on Thursday that she passed away on August 14 in a hospital in Tokyo. Kusama had voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo for decades, yet she continued to create art until her final days, never setting aside her brush.

Kusama’s career spanned more than seven decades, beginning with her emergence in the Japanese art scene in the 1950s. She first gained international prominence during the 1960s as part of the pop art movement, though she later faced a period of obscurity in the 1970s. Her reputation was revitalized in the late 1980s and 1990s, culminating in her representation of Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1993. This event marked a coronation of sorts, launching a multidecade final act in which she became a global icon.

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The artist’s work was deeply personal, rooted in her experiences with hallucinations that began when she was a child. In 1939, at age 10, Kusama started drawing and painting repetitive patterns as a way to assert control over the terrifying visions she saw. These forms, including polka dots and nets, became a bulwark against the terrors that only she could perceive. Over time, this personal visual language evolved into a globally recognizable style that delighted millions of people.

Kusama’s "Infinity Mirror Rooms" are among her most famous creations. These installations use reflective surfaces on floors and walls to create the illusion of endless space, often filled with whimsical objects or lights. The effect immerses viewers in magical, never-ending worlds. Her 2017 exhibition "Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors" at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., smashed attendance records, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors who applied polka dot stickers to a white room and their own faces.

Her influence extended beyond visual art into prose fiction and playwriting. Kusama worked in a dizzying number of mediums, maintaining a remarkable consistency of vision throughout her career. Betsy Johnson, a curator at the Hirshhorn, noted that Kusama remained unswayed by trends in the art market, staying rooted in the visual culture she originated at an early age. This dedication allowed her to develop motifs that became constants in her work.

Kusama’s commercial success was significant. In 2014, her 1960 painting "White No. 28" sold for $7.1 million at auction, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a work by a living woman artist at the time. Her giant sculptures and installations have been featured in major institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

In recent years, Kusama’s presence was felt in public spaces as well. In 2023, a giant figure of the artist was installed to tower over Louis Vuitton’s flagship store on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Her work also filled Manchester’s Aviva Studios and Melbourne’s exhibition venues, attracting large crowds. Actress Julia Fox attended the opening of her exhibition in Melbourne in 2024, highlighting the star power associated with Kusama’s shows.

Kusama was born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, about 130 miles northwest of Tokyo. During World War II, she spent part of her youth sewing parachutes for the Japanese military. Her early life was marked by the hallucinations that would later define her art. Despite these challenges, she pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist, exploring themes of "forever love and eternal soul" in her work.

Tributes to Kusama have poured in from around the world, celebrating her contributions to art and culture. Her ability to transform personal struggle into universal beauty has left an indelible mark on the art world. As museums and galleries reflect on her legacy, it is clear that Kusama’s impact extends far beyond her lifetime, influencing generations of artists and audiences alike.

Sources behind this briefing

Go to the original reporting

  • Smithsonian Magazine↗Yayoi Kusama Created Fantastical 'Infinity Mirror Rooms' That Became the Art World's Most Famous Backdrops. Her Work Spanned Counterculture to the Cosmos
  • BBC News↗In pictures: The dotty world of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who has died aged 97
  • The Guardian US↗Share your tributes and memories of Yayoi Kusama
  • NPR↗Yayoi Kusama, high priestess of polka dots, has died