Hong Kong arts figures, fans pay tribute to Yayoi Kusama after artist’s death at 97

Hong Kong's arts community mourned the loss of Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, who passed away at the age of 97 on August 14 from multiple organ failure. Her legacy, characterized by her iconic polka dots and pumpkin sculptures, will continue to inspire future generations. Among those expressing their grief were West Kowloon Cultural District Authority board chairman Bernard Chan, local design studio AllRightsReserved, and former New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng Chi-kong.

Kusama's relationship with Hong Kong dates back to 2007, when AllRightsReserved collaborated with her on the "Yayoi Kusama: Dots Obsession. Soul of Pumpkin" project at the Harbour City shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. This marked Hong Kong's first large-scale outdoor exhibition of her works, curated by the design company.

Chan, who recently visited Tokyo to thank Kusama in person, recounted his deep emotional experience in a social media post. He praised Kusama as a singular, visionary force whose art reshaped how we perceive the world. AllRightsReserved founder Lam Shu-kam also recalled their collaboration with Kusama in 2007, describing her iconic pumpkin and infinite dots as transformative for audiences.

Actress Ivana Wong Yuen-chi remembered Kusama as a source of inspiration and comfort, stating that her art had opened countless minds and granted hope to souls. Art critic Lau Kin-wai noted that Kusama's motifs of dots and pumpkins resonated with younger generations due to their simple, colorful world and soothing effect.

Kusama's popularity extended beyond Hong Kong, with her West Kowloon Cultural District Authority's M+ museum hosting her exhibition "Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now" from November 2022 to May 2023. The show attracted 280,000 visitors and marked the largest retrospective of her works in Asia outside Japan at the time. Following its success, the exhibition was curated and exported to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain in 2023 and the Serralves Museum in Porto, Portugal, in 2024, attracting a total of 1.65 million visitors across the three venues.