Yayoi Kusama

Japanese, 1929-Present

Yayoi Kusama is one of the most influential artists of the modern era, celebrated for her immersive installations, Infinity Mirror Rooms, and iconic polka dot motifs. Spanning painting, sculpture, and performance, her work draws from deep psychological currents, transforming personal trauma and hallucinations into expansive, often transcendent, visual experiences. Kusama has referred to herself as an “obsessional artist,” channeling themes of repetition, obliteration, and the infinite with unmatched clarity.

Born in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama experienced hallucinations from an early age—most famously, visions of engulfing patterns and fields of dots. These experiences, combined with a tumultuous family life and time spent in a World War II-era factory, shaped the emotional core of her practice. After studying in Kyoto, she moved to New York in 1958, where her “Infinity Net” paintings, comprised of delicate, compulsive marks, anticipated the rise of Minimalism. She soon became a key figure in the city’s avant-garde, expanding her practice into soft sculptures, installations, and politically charged performances.

Since the late 1970s, Kusama has lived and worked voluntarily from a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo, continuing to create with unrelenting focus. Her international acclaim includes representing Japan at the 1993 Venice Biennale and setting auction records for a living female artist. With major retrospectives and collaborations across the globe, Kusama has crafted universal experiences of beauty, disorientation, and wonder.