Tokyo: Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose distinctive polka dots, pumpkin sculptures and immersive Infinity Mirror Rooms made her one of the world’s most recognisable contemporary artists, has died at the age of 97.

Kusama died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, according to the Yayoi Kusama Museum and her official website. Her representatives did not disclose a cause of death. The museum said she continued painting until her final days.

She turned hallucinations into unforgettable art

Kusama began experiencing visions of dots, flowers and flashing patterns as a child. Rather than allowing those experiences to remain private, she transformed them into a distinctive artistic language built around repetition, infinity and self-obliteration.

Her celebrated Infinity Mirror Rooms use mirrors, lights and repeated forms to create the sensation of endless space. Her pumpkin sculptures and dot-covered works similarly became defining elements of her career.

A difficult childhood shaped her journey

Born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama described her childhood as troubled. Art became an important means of coping with the visions and emotional difficulties she experienced.

She studied traditional Japanese painting before moving to New York in 1957. There, she developed her celebrated ‘Infinity Net’ paintings and became involved in the avant-garde art scene through paintings, sculptures, performances and writings.

Recognition arrived after decades of struggle

Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 and voluntarily entered a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo in 1977. She continued working from a nearby studio and maintained an extraordinary artistic output for decades.

Her international reputation grew dramatically later in life, with major exhibitions attracting audiences around the world. Her works eventually sold for millions of dollars, while her immersive installations became especially popular with younger audiences.

She received several major honours, including Japan’s Order of Culture and France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

The Yayoi Kusama Museum said she remained devoted to artistic creation throughout her life and continued painting until the end.

Kusama leaves behind a remarkable legacy in which deeply personal experiences became works that connected with millions of people worldwide.