Yayoi Kusama, the artist whose name became synonymous with polka dots and endless reflections, recently passed away. Her work, a vibrant, sometimes unsettling blend of the cosmic and the deeply personal, touched millions, often making them queue for hours just for a few glorious, shareable seconds.
Her "Infinity Mirror Rooms" are the stuff of legend, turning mere viewers into participants in an endless, sparkling universe. She whipped up the first one, Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field, in 1965. But it took a minute — okay, a few decades — for them to become the global phenomenon we know today.
Then came the 2012 Tate Modern retrospective, perfectly timed with Instagram's meteoric rise. Suddenly, everyone needed that selfie, that dizzying shot from inside Kusama's mind-bending installations. And just like that, an art world icon became a bona fide global superstar. People still line up for those fleeting moments, eager to glimpse infinity through their phone screens. A 2017 tour of her "Infinity Rooms" by the Hirshhorn Museum cemented her status, traveling to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleveland, and Atlanta, proving that sharing your inner world can indeed make you famous.
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While the mirror rooms became her calling card, curators Doryun Chong and Mika Yoshitake wanted to show the full, glorious spectrum of Kusama's genius. Their 2022 exhibition, "Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now" at M+ in Hong Kong, traced her journey from her early "Infinity Net" paintings — inspired by her 1957 flight from Japan to the US — to her rebellious 1960s New York performances and even her fashion collaborations. Because, why not?
The show also delved into her concept of "self-obliteration" – the idea that to truly grasp the infinite, you need to "blend in with sublime nature," observing everything and realizing how utterly connected you are to it all. It’s a process that M+ assistant curator Kary Woo explained leads to "rebirth in love and equality." Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.
The Last Word
In September 2025, Kusama gave a written interview for her latest traveling museum survey. She talked about what sparks her imagination:
"Thoughts and images bubble up in my consciousness incessantly," Kusama said. "And I am unable to refrain from depicting them."
On her creative flow, she was disarmingly direct:
"I live for my art. That’s really all there is to it. I make no distinction between daily life and my work."
When asked about the joy in creation, she called art a "quest for truth," aiming to infuse her work with dignity, vitality, and humanity. "I experience joy whenever I finish a good piece," she noted, which makes perfect sense for someone who has chased infinity her entire life.
How does one know when an infinite pattern is done? She explained that these works are "proof of life," expressing a philosophy she's held since she was ten. As for what she hopes people grasp about her art, she said, "I relate to all people through my art, pursuing my ideals of love and peace." She even coined "Kusama-ism," her own art movement, which has been embraced worldwide for decades. Let that satisfying number sink in.
For young people navigating a complex world, Kusama believed in fostering a "creativity-driven, highly humanistic philosophy" centered on love and peace. Respecting all life, confronting global crises, and sharing positive messages to overcome prejudice and confusion – it's a tall order, but then again, so is painting infinity.
Her artistic turning point? "At the age of five, I was drawing pictures, and by the time I was ten, I harbored a powerful desire to become a painter," she recalled. She explored everything from painting to film, not by grand design, but by natural evolution.
And the male-dominated art world? "I don’t think in terms of male versus female," she stated, though she admitted to struggling greatly in those early days, painting day and night. Now, she simply continues her relentless pursuit of new artistic heights, acutely aware that her time is limited.
What would her younger self say? Kusama believes her early career was about establishing herself. She thinks her younger self would be "delighted to know that I went on to gain a genuine lust for life, having discovered its true beauty." It’s a quiet, powerful testament to a life lived entirely in pursuit of the sublime.
In her final words, she hopes her "passionate paean to humanity will encourage and inspire you all," a full-bodied voice singing the praises of human life and its eternal brilliance. And if that's not a mic drop, what is?
