Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at Age 97 in Tokyo

Renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, celebrated globally for her immersive infinity mirror rooms and polka dot motifs, died at a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 14 at age 97. Her studio announced her passing on her official website on Thursday without disclosing a cause of death.

Kusama spent decades establishing herself as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative output spanned painting, sculpture, performance, fiction, and poetry. She spent her final decades voluntarily living in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital while creating art daily in a nearby studio.

In an official statement published on her website, her studio reflected on her legacy and lifelong dedication to her craft.

"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 read.

The studio emphasized that the famed creator maintained her relentless artistic output until the very end of her life.

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

Addressing her global fanbase, the studio pledged to maintain her artistic vision across future generations.

"We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world," the statement read.

Born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929, Kusama suffered an unhappy childhood marked by parental conflict. She experienced visual hallucinations starting in childhood, seeing flowers and patterns that swarmed around her. To cope, she began drawing what she saw, developing themes that would define her career.

Seeking relief from the restrictive environment of Japanese society, Kusama moved to New York in 1958. She quickly gained attention with her "infinity net" paintings—large-scale works covered in field after field of impastoed polka dots. Her 1954 painting Flower (DSPS) reflected the early origins of her signature visual style.

Reflecting on that early work, Kusama once described the vivid sensory experience that inspired her artwork.

"I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space, and be reduced to nothingness," Kusama said.

In 1962, artists Frank Stella and Donald Judd purchased one of her early infinity net paintings for $75. Decades later in 2014, her painting White No. 28 sold at auction for $7.1 million, setting a record at the time for a living female artist.

Kusama expanded into performance art and activism during the 1960s, organizing anti-war demonstrations and "body festivals." In 1966, she presented her famous Narcissus Garden installation at the Venice Biennale, consisting of 1,500 reflective spheres.

Following the death of her close companion Joseph Cornell in 1972, Kusama returned to Japan as her mental health deteriorated. In 1977, she voluntarily checked into a Tokyo psychiatric facility that offered art therapy courses, choosing to make it her permanent residence while working daily in her nearby studio.

In a 2017 interview, Kusama explained how hallucinations continued to drive her daily painting process.

"I still see hallucinations even now," Kusama said.

She described the persistent visual phenomena that blanketed her surrounding environment.

"Dots come flying everywhere — on my dress, the floor, things I’m carrying, throughout the house, the ceiling. And I paint them," Kusama said.

Kusama experienced a major career revival starting in the 1990s, highlighted by her celebrated pavilion setup at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Her immersive infinity mirror rooms subsequently became major global attractions, drawing massive museum audiences around the world.