Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama turned obsession into an artistic language all her own. A painter, sculptor, writer, and installation artist, she spent decades exploring infinity and repetition, translating her singular vision into entire worlds.
Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama began making art as a child, covering paper and canvases with the dots and patterns that would become her signature. She moved to New York in 1957 with little money and few connections, but quickly joined the city’s avant-garde art scene. Her work challenged the conventions of painting and sculpture, using repetition and accumulation to create environments that stretched beyond their physical limits.
She also refused to stay within the boundaries of the art world. Her work extended across performance, fashion, and literature, and she became known for her collaborations with major artists and brands. Her distinctive visual language (polka dots, pumpkins, flowers, and mirrored spaces) made her one of the most recognizable contemporary artists in the world.
Into her 90s, Kusama continued to make new work with the same relentless curiosity that defined her career from the beginning. Her influence lies in making the intensely personal feel universal.
