TOKYO — Yayoi Kusama died on August 14 at a hospital in Tokyo. The artist was 97 years old at the time of her death.

Kusama's studio announced her death in a statement on her website. "She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul," the studio representative said. "We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world."

During her time in the hospital from 1977 onward, Kusama wrote surreal poetry and fiction, including 'The Hustlers Grotto of Christopher Street' (1984) and 'Between Heaven and Earth' (1988). She also created approximately 900 paintings in her 'My Eternal Soul' series between 2009 and 2021, a period spanning nearly a decade of sustained artistic output while residing in the facility.

Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929. She experienced childhood hallucinations in which flowers appeared to swarm and talk to her. At age 13 during World War II, she was conscripted to produce fabric for Japanese army parachutes. She studied nihonga, a traditional Japanese style of painting, in Kyoto.

At the 1966 Venice Biennale, Kusama presented Narcissus Garden, an installation of 1,500 reflective balls. She attempted to sell the reflective balls for $2 each before the Biennale closed the operation. In 1968, she staged New York’s first 'homosexual wedding' in Tribeca.

That same year, she washed a Soviet flag outside the United Nations building to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia. She also wrote to US President Richard Nixon offering to have sex with him in exchange for ending the Vietnam War.

In 1993, Kusama represented Japan at the 45th Venice Biennale, creating the mirrored room installation 'Mirror Room (Pumpkin)' for the Japanese pavilion. This marked her resurgence in international recognition after decades of work from Tokyo. She received the Praemium Imperiale for painting in 2006.

A museum dedicated to her work opened in Tokyo in 2017. She received the Order of Culture, Japan's most prestigious artistic award, in 2016.

Kusama collaborated with fashion brand Louis Vuitton. She published several novels during the 1980s and had a platonic relationship with artist Joseph Cornell. Her work generated auction revenue in recent years.

In 2008, Christie’s auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2014, her painting White No 28 sold for $7.1 million at auction. In May 2022, her painting Untitled (Nets) sold for nearly $10.5 million at auction. Her work generated $190.5 million in auction revenue in 2023.

Timeline

Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929. At age 13 during World War II, Kusama was conscripted to produce fabric for Japanese army parachutes. Kusama arrived in Seattle before relocating to New York in the late 1950s.

Kusama moved to New York in 1958. In 1962, Kusama sold her first 'infinity net' painting to artists Frank Stella and Donald Judd for $75. In 1963, Kusama began creating 'soft sculptures' covered with fabric-stuffed phallic shapes.

Kusama attempted to sell the reflective balls from Narcissus Garden for $2 each before the Biennale closed the operation.

What's New

Kusama represented Japan at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993, creating the mirrored room installation 'Mirror Room (Pumpkin)' for the Japanese pavilion, marking her resurgence in international recognition after decades of work from Tokyo. Yayoi Kusama wrote surreal poetry and fiction, including 'The Hustlers Grotto of Christopher Street' (1984) and 'Between Heaven and Earth' (1988), during her time in the Tokyo psychiatric hospital from 1977 onward. Kusama's studio, where she continued producing art since the mid-1970s, was located within walking distance of Seiwa Hospital in Tokyo, allowing her to maintain her creative practice while living in the facility.

Kusama created approximately 900 paintings in her 'My Eternal Soul' series between 2009 and 2021, a period spanning nearly a decade of sustained artistic output while residing in the Tokyo psychiatric hospital. "Polka dots are fabulous. I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw. I will keep painting until I die." "I feel there is little left in my life, but I am now still fighting to the death for my art. I am giving all I have so that many people will continue to be interested in my art, even after I am dead." Kusama voluntarily checked herself into Seiwa Hospital in 1977, stating that art had saved her life and that she chose to reside there permanently to manage her mental health while continuing her artistic career.

Why It Matters

Kusama's career spanned nearly a century, moving from early hallucinations and wartime conscription to becoming one of the most commercially successful living artists. Her decision to live in a psychiatric hospital from 1977 until her death did not halt her output; instead, she produced hundreds of paintings, wrote novels, and maintained a global presence through installations and collaborations. The proximity of her studio to Seiwa Hospital allowed her to continue working daily, resulting in series such as 'My Eternal Soul' and high-value auction sales that reached $190.5 million in 2023. The announcement of her death marks the end of an era for contemporary art, with her studio pledging to carry forward her wishes. Her influence extended beyond galleries into fashion through collaborations with Louis Vuitton and into public consciousness through iconic installations like 'Narcissus Garden' and 'Mirror Room (Pumpkin)'. The opening of a dedicated museum in Tokyo in 2017 and receipt of Japan's Order of Culture in 2016 cemented her status within her home country, while her earlier activism and unconventional methods in New York shaped her reputation as a boundary-pushing figure.