GoKawiilAvant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama dies at 97
Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist famous for polka-dot patterns and pumpkin sculptures, died on the 14th at a Tokyo hospital due to multiple organ failure. She was 97 and a recipient of the Order of Culture. A private funeral was held with close family, and a public memorial is planned later.
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Kusama's decades-long career bridged avant-garde performance art in 1960s New York and blockbuster museum retrospectives worldwide, making her one of the most commercially and critically successful living artists before her death. Her passing marks the end of an era for an artist whose work on infinity, obsession and mental health resonated across generations and art markets.
- Kusama died at 97 from multiple organ failure in Tokyo
- She rose to fame in New York in the 1960s as the 'Queen of Happenings'
- Her polka-dot and pumpkin motifs stemmed from lifelong hallucinations and gained major international recognition after the 1990s
Yayoi Kusama Phaidon monograph — A comprehensive art book on Yayoi Kusama is the perfect way to revisit the polka dots, infinity nets, and iconic pumpkin sculptures that made her a global icon. The Phaidon monograph collects her paintings, soft sculptures, and installations alongside essays on her life from New York happenings to her later retrospectives.
See Yayoi Kusama Phaidon monograph on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: news.jp, 2026-08-27
Published there as: “Kusama Yayoi Dies at 97”
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