Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama passed away at the age of 97, according to her official website. She died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026. Throughout her life, Kusama dedicated herself entirely to artistic creation, achieving international acclaim as a pioneering avant-garde artist. Her work spanned visual art, performance, fiction, and poetry.

One of the most recognizable artists worldwide, Kusama primarily worked in sculpture and installation. She was a significant creative figure to emerge from Japan. One of her paintings sold for approximately $10.5 million at auction in 2022, placing her works among the highest-earning by a female artist globally. Throughout her eight-decade career, Kusama influenced other artists, including American pop artists Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.

Born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan, Kusama began creating art at a young age. She used drawing and painting as a means to cope with the visual and auditory hallucinations she experienced. The dots that would become her signature style were representations of her childhood hallucinations, featuring vivid patterns and polka dots that obscured her vision.

Kusama transformed these dots into large-scale pumpkin sculptures and incorporated them into her Infinity Mirror Rooms, designed to create the illusion of endlessness.