Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist renowned for her polka-dot paintings and mirrored Infinity Rooms, died on August 14 at age 97 in a Tokyo hospital. The Yayoi Kusama Museum and Foundation announced her passing. Kusama first gained fame in New York during the 1960s with her abstract "Infinity Nets" and phallic "Accumulation Sculptures." Donald Judd championed her work, helping bridge her art to the Minimalist movement.

Alongside Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol, she featured in the 1962 Green Gallery Pop Art exhibition. Despite the erotic appearance of her sculptures, Kusama stated she reproduced terrifying forms to suppress fear. Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, she moved to New York in 1958, immersing herself in Surrealism and avant-garde scenes.

Her mirrored Infinity Rooms became global sensations in later decades. Kusama wrote of using art to correct a childhood disability. Her legacy spans Pop Art, Minimalism, and immersive installation art.