Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama has died at the age of 97, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. The report said Kusama, a recipient of Japan’s Order of Culture, died on Aug. 14, 2026, from multi-organ failure.
Kusama was known for her signature polka dots and net-like geometric patterns, works that left a deep mark on contemporary art and global industry. Her career stretched across decades, and the article said her international artistic and market position was firmly established after the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a retrospective of her work in 1998.
Beyond her artistic achievements, the report described Kusama’s exhibitions as major generators of offline economic activity. Her Latin American touring exhibition, which began in 2013, drew more than 2 million visitors. A 2017 solo exhibition in Tokyo recorded about 520,000 admissions. According to the article, shows of that scale helped drive tourism, merchandise retail, and local hotel and restaurant revenue.
A globally recognizable art brand
Kusama became widely known for her polka dots, pumpkins and Infinity Mirror Rooms. The report also said she once exhibited alongside Andy Warhol and was named one of the “Top 10 Avant-Garde Artists of the 21st Century” by the U.S. art website My Morden Met.
ABMedia wrote that Kusama’s work had long been a focal point in the global art market, showing strong asset value and liquidity at international auctions. After the 1998 MoMA retrospective, her international reputation was fully cemented, and that, in turn, strengthened pricing power for her polka-dot and soft sculpture works. The article said this helped build the highly recognizable “KUSAMA” brand and gave her work the characteristics of a mature alternative investment category.
Exhibitions, cross-sector deals and licensing
The report said Kusama’s influence extended beyond high-priced art transactions into a broad exhibition economy with mass public participation. It also noted that a large solo exhibition, “Trajectory” and “Miracle,” was held at MoNTUE in Taipei from December 2024 to May 2025.
ABMedia added that Kusama expanded revenue sources during her lifetime through strategic cross-industry collaborations that turned fine art into consumer products. The Yayoi Kusama Museum, formally established in 2017, was described as a step toward institutionalizing her cultural capital and supporting long-term intellectual property management and brand licensing operations.
The article said Kusama’s death marks the close of an important era in contemporary art. It added that the cultural capital and brand value she leaves behind are expected to keep shaping the art auction segment and the licensing business.