Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, an avant-garde figure nicknamed the "Queen of Polka Dots," died on August 14 in a Tokyo hospital, her company announced on Thursday, August 27, prompting a wave of international tributes.
Childhood hallucinations transformed into a global work
Born in 1929 into a wealthy family, Yayoi Kusama began painting her signature motifs at the age of 10, after experiencing visual hallucinations that invaded her field of vision. "One day, after seeing a tablecloth with a red flower pattern on a desk, I saw the same pattern everywhere—on the ceiling, the windows, and the pillars," she wrote in her autobiography. Instantly recognizable by her bright red wig and polka-dot outfits, she transformed this struggle with mental illness into an artistic language recognized worldwide.
Settling in New York in the late 1950s, she rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde scene and artists like Andy Warhol, before developing her immersive installations called Infinity Mirror Rooms, which plunge visitors into a space of mirrors and lights giving an illusion of infinity.
A workshop near the hospital where she voluntarily lived
Returning to Japan in 1973, Yayoi Kusama chose to voluntarily reside in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital, while continuing to create daily in a nearby studio. Her company celebrated her internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual arts, performance, fiction, and poetry, affirming her commitment to continuing, through art, to bring hope and strength to people around the world.
His works are now featured in the collections of the world's greatest museums, from the MoMA in New York to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and his installations are among the most visited in contemporary art worldwide.
Community
Comments
Write a comment
Be the first to comment on this article.