According to a report by Japan Yahoo News on August 27, Japanese artist Yasuyuki Kusaka passed away in a hospital in Tokyo on August 14 at the age of 97. The official website of Kusaka announced this news on the 27th. Kusaka became famous worldwide for his works that repeatedly used dots and net patterns, his iconic image of "pumpkins", and his series of "Infinite Mirror Houses" using mirrors. He had a lasting influence on modern art.
Kusama Yayoi’s famous “Mirror Room” and “Pumpkin” online images
The obituary published on Masayuki Kusakawa’s official website reads: "Masayuki Kusakawa passed away on August 14, 2026, at a hospital in Tokyo." It also states: "She dedicated her life to avant-garde artists who focused on art, covering various fields such as performance, fiction, and poetry. She never put down her paintbrush until the end of her life, living a life of continuous exploration of eternal love and souls for 97 years."
The obituary also states: "We will carry on the writer's wishes, hoping to convey the power of hope and future to people around the world through art."
Masayuki Kusaka was born on March 22, 1929, in Nagano Prefecture. Since childhood, she experienced hallucinations and hearing visions. She began creating artwork with dots and networks as the main theme around the age of ten.
In 1957, Yasumi Kusama went to the United States and conducted artistic activities in New York for a long time. Using innovative ideas involving mirrors and lighting devices, she continuously created new works. By repeatedly using single elements, she established a unique artistic philosophy of “self-dissolution”—breaking down the boundaries between the individual and the world. In 1973, Kusama returned to Japan.
In the field of painting, she launched the "My Forever Soul" series in 2009. Over the course of 12 years until 2021, she completed approximately 900 works. In the same year, she began creating a new painting series called "Praying for Love Every Day", and continued her artistic creation until the end of her life.
"My Forever Soul" Art Exhibition - Online Images
Her artistic achievements have received high praise both in Japan and abroad. She has won the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Art Selection Award, the Asahi Prize, the French Order of Arts and Letters, the Officer's Medal with a sunburst medal, as well as the Takamatsu Palace Memorial World Cultural Award in the painting category. In 2009, she was awarded the title of Cultural Merit; in 2016, she received the Cultural Medal.
In 2017, the “Kusama Yasuyuki Art Museum” was opened in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Many major art museums around the world have also held large-scale exhibitions for it.
