In Remembrance of Yayoi Kusama

2026.8.28 [Fri]

Yayoi Kusama, a titan of contemporary art who commanded an unparalleled global presence as Japan's foremost contemporary artist, has completed her extraordinary life’s journey at the age of 97, having lived her life to the fullest. We offer our most profound and heartfelt condolences.

Upon relocating to the United States in 1957, she rapidly ascended to prominence as a visionary of the avant-garde. In 1993, she was selected to represent Japan at the Japan Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. From the 2000s onward, amidst a re-evaluation of global art histories, international acclaim for her work expanded exponentially. Following landmark retrospectives at institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and Tate Modern, both the critical esteem for her oeuvre and her enduring adoration among the global public became unshakable.

The Mori Art Museum has been profoundly privileged to collaborate with Kusama across a multitude of historic exhibitions. These include our 2003 inaugural exhibition, Happiness: A Survival Guide for Art and Life; her seminal 2004 solo exhibition Kusamatrix: Kusama Yayoi Exhibition; the 2013 Roppongi Hills and Mori Art Museum 10th Anniversary Exhibition All You Need Is LOVE; and the 2020 STARS: Six Contemporary Artists from Japan to the World. Furthermore, as the feature artist of the 2012 Roppongi Art Night, her vision caused the nightscape of Roppongi to burst into unforgettable splendor.

In her autobiography, Infinity Net, Kusama wrote: “My life, a dot: that is, one of a million particles. A white net of nothingness composed of an astronomical aggregation of connected dots will obliterate me and others, and the whole of the universe.”(* 1) It is as though she has now dissolved into that very infinity, transforming into an eternal presence within the vast expanse of the cosmos. Yet, her revolutionary art and transcendent spirit will forever endure, illuminating our hearts across the generations. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Kataoka Mami
Director, Mori Art Museum

* 1 Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, trans. by Ralph McCarthy (London: Tate Publishing, 2011).