Yayoi Kusama, high priestess of polka dots, has died
Renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, famous for her polka-dot sculptures and immersive 'Infinity Rooms,' has passed away at age 97. Her work, often inspired by her lifelong struggle with hallucinations, became a global cultural phenomenon.
Why it matters
Kusama was a seminal figure in contemporary art whose influence spanned decades and bridged the gap between avant-garde and popular culture.
Yayoi Kusama pictured in New York in 2013.
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, best known for her polka dot sculptures in eye-popping colors and shimmering "Infinity Rooms," has died. She was 97 years old.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, her representative David Zwirner said Kusama passed away from "multiple organ failure" at a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 14.
The wildly imaginative Kusama used her art to express her obsessions: Repetitive brushstrokes on dotted canvases she called infinity net paintings; giant orange and black, polka dotted pumpkins; enclosed rooms with mirrored walls and twinkling lights that seem to go on forever; fluorescent paintings and sculptures. She often described her artwork as a means of survival. For the viewer, it was a reflection of one's place in the vast universe.
"Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos," she wrote .
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