Yayoi Kusama,“polka dot queen,” Celebrated Japanese Contemporary Artist, Dies at 97

Yayoi Kusama,“polka dot queen,” Celebrated Japanese Contemporary Artist, Dies at 97

TOKYO, AUGUST 27 [VoM News]: Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, renowned worldwide for her polka dots, infinity rooms and immersive installations, has died at 97, her company said Thursday. She died on August 14.

Kusama, often known as the “polka dot queen,” transformed experiences of hallucinations and personal struggles into distinctive works spanning painting, sculpture, performance, fashion and literature, AFP reported.

Born in 1929 into a conservative family, Kusama began creating art as a child. She moved to the United States in the late 1950s after studying art in Japan and, with support from artist Georgia O’Keeffe, became part of New York’s avant-garde scene.

She gained attention through large-scale paintings and provocative performances in the 1960s, despite facing discrimination as a Japanese woman. Her later works, including mirrored infinity rooms and pumpkin sculptures covered in dots, made her one of the most recognisable contemporary artists in the world.

Kusama returned to Japan in the 1970s and lived and worked from a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo for the rest of her life.

Visitors and admirers paid tribute to her distinctive artistic vision. AFP quoted visitor Velislava Nuneva as praising Kusama for expressing herself freely and succeeding in the male-dominated New York art scene.

Apple CEO Tim Cook described Kusama as a “true visionary” whose imagination had left a lasting impact on the art world.

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