Yayoi Kusama, Visionary Artist of Polka Dots and Infinity, Has Died

Rest in Peace, Yayoi Kusama, the prolific artist who filled the world with color and polka dots.

Kusama began experiencing vivid hallucinations as a child, and painting became a way to make sense of what she saw. Those experiences eventually shaped the dots, repetition, mirrors, and infinity that became her unmistakable artistic signature.

In 1960s New York, she became a provocative force in the avant-garde, staging nude performances and anti-Vietnam War protests. She even offered President Richard Nixon sex in exchange for peace.

Her pumpkins, polka dots, and Infinity Mirror Rooms later became icons of contemporary art.

After returning to Japan in 1973, Kusama voluntarily entered a psychiatric hospital in 1977, continuing to create art from a nearby studio for the rest of her life.

Yayoi Kusama died on August 14, 2026, at 97.

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