Yayoi Kusama, Renowned Polka-Dot Pumpkin Sculptor, Dies at 97
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Yayoi Kusama, the influential Japanese avant-garde artist known for her polka-dot (물방울무늬) motifs and giant pumpkin sculptures, died on November 14 in Tokyo at age 97, the artist’s official website announced. Celebrated for work spanning visual art, performance, novels and poetry, Kusama gained international fame with repeated patterns—polka-dots, nets and spirals—and immersive installations like the “Infinity Mirror Rooms” (무한 거울의 방) that drew millions of visitors. Early hallucinations experienced during childhood in Nagano influenced her signature polka-dot imagery. Kusama lived in New York from 1957 to 1973, where she engaged with movements for gender equality, LGBTQ rights and anti-war causes, including provocative late-1960s performances painting polka-dots on nude participants. After returning to Japan, she lived reclusively near a Tokyo mental health hospital while continuing prolific studio work. In 2016 she received Japan’s top cultural honor for artists and said she hoped her work would remain beloved after her death. One of her early “Net” (무제(그물)) works sold for about $10.5 million.
