Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97

Tokyo, Aug. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her polka-dot motifs and pumpkin sculptures, died of multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 14, it was learned Thursday. She was 97. Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, Kusama began drawing polka dots and net patterns around age 10, creating fantastic works in watercolor, pastel and oil. She moved to the United States in 1957, and her 1959 solo exhibition in New York won acclaim for “Infinity Net” paintings, featuring white net-like patterns on a black background. She later unveiled works she called the “soft sculpture” series. In the second half of the 1960s, she staged radical events under the name “happening,” showcasing painted nude bodies in public spaces, gaining support from young people in the hippie movement. Her 1967 film “Kusama’s Self-Obliteration,” which documented her own creative activities, also drew attention. It won awards at film festivals in Europe and the United States. Kusama shifted her base of artistic activity to Japan in 1973 and published novels and poetry. In 1983, she won the new writer’s award from the literary magazine “Yasei Jidai” for her novel “The Hustlers Grotto of Christopher Street.” She participated in the Venice Biennale in 1993, representing Japan. From 1994 onward, she produced many outdoor sculptures at sites including Benesse Art Site Naoshima in western Japan. She continued to work prolifically on such projects as the painting series “My Eternal Soul” and the public art series “Pumpkin.” In 2021, she began creating the painting series “Every Day I Pray for Love.” Kusama was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2006 and designated a Person of Cultural Merit in 2009 by the Japanese government. She received the Order of Culture in 2016. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]