Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Yayoi Kusama, Artist Who Covered The World In Dots, Dies
Yayoi Kusama was a Japanese artist famous for covering paintings, rooms, clothes, and sculptures with dots.
She said she saw dots everywhere from the time she was a child.
She turned those visions into art about infinity and the universe.
Kusama moved from Japan to New York in 1957 to pursue her career.
She created unusual works and staged performances that sometimes protested the Vietnam War.
For many years, people did not fully appreciate her work.
Later, her mirror rooms and dotted pumpkins became very popular around the world.
She continued painting until shortly before her death.
Kusama died in Tokyo at age 97 after multiple organ failure.
Yayoi Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on August 14 at age 97.
The Yayoi Kusama Foundation and Museum said she died of multiple organ failure.
Kusama transformed recurring hallucinations and polka dots into a seven-decade artistic language.
Her works included Infinity Nets, Soft Sculptures, Happenings, Infinity Mirror Rooms, and dotted pumpkins.
After years of being overlooked, she became one of the most commercially successful living female artists.
- Who
- Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist.
- What
- She died at age 97 after a career spanning more than 70 years.
- When
- August 14; the article does not specify the year.
- Where
- A hospital in Tokyo, Japan.
- Why
- The Yayoi Kusama Foundation and Museum said the cause was multiple organ failure.
- Age at death
- 97
- Cause of death
- Multiple organ failure
- Career length
- More than 70 years
- Birthplace
- Matsumoto, Japan
- Move to New York
- 1957, when Kusama was 27
- Narcissus Garden
- An installation of 1,500 silver plastic spheres shown at the 1966 Venice Biennale
- Final artistic work
- She continued painting her series My Eternal Soul until the week before her death