Yayoi Kusama, Japanese Artist Who Made Infinity Her Medium, Dies at 97
From her radical experiments in 1960s New York to the immersive installations that drew millions worldwide, the pioneering artist transformed polka dots, pumpkins, and mirrored reflections into an unmistakable visual language
Yayoi Kusama, the avant-garde Japanese artist who transformed how we perceive polka dots and pumpkins and whose kaleidoscopic infinity rooms drew hours-long queues, died earlier this month at 97. Kusama, who was part of the 1960s Pop Art movement in New York City, has been a pivotal figure in contemporary art. In 1966, Kusama was the first woman artist to represent Japan at the 33rd Venice Biennale, showing her piece Narcissus Garden. She would go on to break attendance records for museums worldwide, which would continue throughout her career.
“It’s been one of the great privileges of my professional life to have been able to represent Yayoi Kusama’s extraordinary art for the last 15 years,” David Zwirner said. “The last time Kusama visited New York, a city where she lived for many years, was in 2013. During that visit, she opened the first of many exhibitions in our galleries that had hour-long lines for the chance to experience her work. Her steadfast message of love and peace has now reached millions of admirers around the globe. At the time of her passing, Kusama was, without a doubt, the most famous living artist in the world.”
Reflecting on a recent visit to Kusama’s retrospective on view at Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Zwirner said the show was a testament to her genius. “Kusama’s art influenced the histories of minimalism, pop art, and performance art; more recently, her large-scale installations single-handedly pioneered what is now referred to as experiential art,” Zwirner said. “Shortly after my visit to the Museum Ludwig, they announced that this exhibition had become the most successful in its history. Kusama must have been pleased to read this. I will miss her terribly.”
Kusama, who spoke openly about mental health and said many times that art had saved her, had been living at the Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill in Tokyo since 1977. She often worked in metaphors, especially with the dot. “I wanted to examine the single dot that was my own life,” she had said. “One polka dot: a single particle among billions.” Her vibrant pumpkins, which first appeared in her work in the 1940s, were a form of self-portraiture tied to childhood memories.
Beyond her work, her eclectic personal style caught the eye of many in the fashion world, including Louis Vuitton, with whom she partnered several times. Her designs also graced the bottles of a limited-edition vintage Veuve Clicquot.
Following her death, the Yayoi Kusama Museum shared insight into her final days, which included painting. “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 museum shared on Instagram. “She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and remained steadfast in her lifelong belief that love can save the world. We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world.”