Yayoi Kusama Dies in Tokyo Aged 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has died from multiple organ failure in a Tokyo hospital. Her gallery, David Zwirner, announced she passed away on August 14 at the age of 97.

Born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929, Kusama was one of the country's most prominent artists. She began with solo shows in Japan during the 1950s before her work evolved significantly in New York in the 1960s. There, she created performance art and participated in key exhibitions.

Career Highlights and Recognition

Kusama represented Japan at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993. A 2014 survey based on museum attendance named her the world's most popular artist. She was included on TIME Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2016.

Her gallery's statement said she pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist. "Throughout an extraordinary lifetime devoted entirely to artistic creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual art, performance, fiction, and poetry," the statement noted.

Signature Artistic Works

Kusama became globally famous for her colourful polka dot paintings and sculptures. A gigantic polka dot pumpkin is installed on a pier on Japan's Naoshima Island.

The Infinity Mirror Rooms became immensely popular. These immersive artworks feature mirrored rooms lit to create a feeling of infinite space. They attracted record crowds and long queues, particularly in the age of Instagram.

Her work frequently interacted with architecture and public spaces. One installation filled a hurricane-damaged train garage on New York's Rockaway peninsula with 1,500 mirrored balls. In 2024, she created her largest permanent sculpture, Infinite Accumulation, a series of connected metallic spheres at London's Liverpool Street Station.

Later Life and Collaborations

Kusama had lived in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital since checking in during 1977. She suffered from hallucinations throughout her life. Despite this, her studio, Yayoi Kusama Inc, stated she continued working until her death.

"She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul," the studio's statement said.

She also collaborated with major brands. Luxury brand Louis Vuitton overhauled its stores with her polka dot designs a few years ago and created lifelike animatronics of her for its windows.

Her museum shows drew record crowds from the late 1990s onward. She held a solo show at the Center for International Contemporary Arts in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford in 1989.