Agency says she died at a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 14

Kusama Yayoi. [Reuters]
Kusama Yayoi. [Reuters]

Japanese avant-garde artist Kusama Yayoi has died at 97.

Her agency said Thursday in a statement, according to AFP, that it was "with profound sadness" that it announced Kusama's death at a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 14, 2026.

"Having lived an extraordinary life of total dedication to art creation, Kusama built an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose work spanned visual art, performance, novels and poetry," the statement said. "She continued painting until her final days, never setting down her brush, and continued her pursuit of love and the eternal soul."

The agency added that it would carry on Kusama's legacy, continuing "to convey hope and strength for the future to people around the world through art."

Born in 1929 as the youngest of four children in a wealthy family, Kusama began creating her signature polka-dot and net patterns at the age of 10.

She enrolled at the Kyoto City University of Arts in 1948, held her first solo exhibition in 1952, and spent 1957 to 1972 working in New York before returning to Japan in 1977.

Having lived through war as a child and developed a mental illness, Kusama checked herself into a psychiatric hospital at 48, where she established the Kusama Studio and continued to produce work.

In 1993, she represented Japan at the Venice Biennale as the country's first solo representative and won an award there. She went on to receive a commendation from Japan's foreign minister in 2000, the Asahi Prize in 2001 and France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2003.

Known for her red wig and polka-dot outfits, Kusama was widely recognized in South Korea as well, particularly for her work "Pumpkin."


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