Yayoi Kusuma is dead at 97.
The Japanese artist is called the Queen of Polka Dots.
She poured her hallucinations into her dizzying artworks.
Yayoi Kusama, Queen of Polka Dots, Dead At 97
The Japanese artist won global attention for bold, large paintings and for provocative 1960s "happenings" featuring body painting and polka dots.
Summary
Yayoi Kusama, the acclaimed Japanese avant-garde artist who turned her hallucinations into works that ranged from vibrant dot-covered paintings and pumpkin sculptures to infinity mirror room installations, has passed away at the age of 97. She died in hospital on August 14, according to a statement by the Yayoi Kusama Museum, noting that she continued to paint until her final days. No cause of death was disclosed.
Yayoi Kusama's Career
A statement read, "Throughout an extraordinary lifetime devoted entirely to artistic creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual art, performance, fiction, and poetry. She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul."
The legendary artist was born in Matsumoto in 1929 and moved to New York in 1957. Her influence cuts beyond art, spinning into the world of fashion and pop culture. One of the most iconic collaborations with the fashion world was her stint with Louis Vuitton. The 2012 and 2023 collaborations remoulded her signature dots, pumpkins and psychedelic motifs onto handbags, clothing, shoes and accessories, drawing contemporary art into the luxury fashion space.
Returning to Japan in the 1970s, Kusama checked herself into a Tokyo psychiatric hospital, where she lived and worked for the rest of her life. Instantly standing out in her bright red wig and boldly spotted outfits, she had a renaissance from the 1980s.
"One day, after seeing a tablecloth with a red flower pattern on a desk, I saw the same red flower pattern all over the ceiling, windows and pillars. It filled the room, and covered my body," she mentioned in her autobiography.
She also inaugurated a fashion line, established a "Church of Self-Obliteration" and styled herself the "High Priestess of Polka Dots" to officiate at a gay wedding.
"She formulated a philosophy of art she dubbed 'self-obliteration' based on simple motifs of obsessive repetition and proliferation," her website affirms.
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