World-renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama passes away at the age of 97

Internationally renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama passed away at a hospital on August 14 at the age of 97. Her death was announced by her studio on its official website. 

Best known for her iconic red bob and polka-dot motifs, Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture in 1929. She experienced hallucinations from a young age and channelled these experiences into her art, developing the distinctive patterns and motifs that would become synonymous with her work. 

In the 1950s she moved to New York, where she began creating soft sculptures and immersive installations using mirrors and lights. Through her repeated use of specific motifs, as well as works spanning body painting and filmmaking, she established herself as a pioneering avant-garde artist. During her time in New York, Kusama became a major figure in the city’s downtown art scene, exhibiting alongside artists including Donald Judd and Andy Warhol.

Kusama returned to Japan in 1973, where she expanded her practice into other mediums, including poetry and novels, while continuing to create large-scale sculptures and installations. Her renowned Infinity Mirror Rooms series also became a defining part of her career. From 2009 to 2021, she produced approximately 900 paintings for her My Eternal Soul series.

Kusama’s work has been celebrated worldwide, with major retrospectives held at institutions including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern in London. She also has a museum dedicated entirely to her work here in Tokyo: the Yayoi Kusama Museum, which opened in 2017. The five-storey museum in Shinjuku showcases her art across a rotating programme of exhibitions.

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