Yayoi Kusama Dies At 97

The Japanese avant-garde artist made polka dots and infinity rooms global icons.

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Yayoi Kusama (1929-2026): An Artist Who Captured Infinity

Yayoi Kusama Created Fantastical 'Infinity Mirror Rooms' That Became the Art World's Most Famous Backdrops. Her Work Spanned Counterculture to the Cosmos

Yayoi Kusama, Japanese artist known for her polka dots across the art world, dies at 97 in Tokyo

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Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose polka dots, mirrored "Infinity Rooms" and pumpkin sculptures became globally recognized motifs, died Aug. 14 at a Tokyo hospital at 97. Her representatives said the cause was multiple organ failure, and Yayoi Kusama Studio said she continued painting until her final days. Born in 1929, Kusama built an avant-garde practice across painting, sculpture, installation and performance, with hallucinations informing recurring fields of dots. She had voluntarily lived for decades in a psychiatric hospital while maintaining an international studio practice.

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Hallucinations Into ArtMostly Center

Yayoi Kusama turned hallucinations and recurring personal motifs into a powerful artistic vision. That vision became a defining source of innovation and helped make her one of contemporary art’s most recognizable and influential figures.