Yayoi Kusama, the acclaimed Japanese avant-garde artist known as the polka dot queen, has died at the age of 97. According to a statement on her website, Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on August 14. Her company stated that she lived a life devoted entirely to artistic creation, continuing to paint and explore the eternal soul until her final days.
Spanning seven decades from the 1950s to the 2020s, Kusama's career was marked by her ability to channel hallucinations and traumas into her work. She is world-renowned for her signature polka dots, repetitive patterns, and immersive Infinity Mirror Rooms, as well as her pumpkin sculptures. These hypnotic, unconventional works, which included pieces focused on self-obliteration, propelled her from near-obscurity to a place in the world's most prominent museums and galleries.
Kusama's journey began in Japan, where she felt misunderstood by parents who wanted her to marry rather than pursue art. This led her to the United States, where she became a trippy innovator of New York's avant-garde scene in the 1960s. During this period, her phallic sculptures and public performances caused a stir in New York City and Europe. Despite spending decades living in a psychiatric hospital, she achieved superstar status as one of Japan's most respected contemporary artists.