By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-27 03:01:48 | Updated at 2026-09-19 12:19:08
3 weeks ago
TOKYO, Aug 27 - Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, who transformed hallucinations into art and was known for her obsessive dot-covered paintings and pumpkin motifs, has died at the age of 97.
The announcement made on her official website said she died on August 14 but did not give a cause of death.
Frustrated with the confining nature of Japanese society, Kusama left for New York at 27, where she quickly made a name for herself with her paintings, inspired by hallucinations of flashing lights, dots and flowers she had seen since childhood.
She also wrote, took part in anti-war activities during the 1960s, and reportedly influenced artists such as Andy Warhol.
Kusama, who was candid about her mental health struggles, said New York gave her neuroses. Around 1977, a few years after returning to Japan, she voluntarily entered a mental hospital and lived there for decades, being driven to her nearby studio each morning.
"I still see hallucinations even now," Kusama said in 2017.
"Dots come flying everywhere — on my dress, the floor, things I'm carrying, throughout the house, the ceiling. And I paint them." REUTERS
