Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese Artist Known for Her Many Collaborations, Has Died

No explanation has yet been given for the delay. Until her final days, the Japanese artist—recognizable by her red wig—reportedly continued to paint, remaining true to the creative obsession that spanned nearly eight decades and made her one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary art.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Kusama left Japan in the late 1950s to live in New York. The avant-garde scene at the time was still largely male-dominated, but she quickly distinguished herself through her Infinity Nets, her sculptures, and later her performances and immersive installations. Her first Infinity Mirror Room dates back to 1965.

After returning to Japan in the 1970s, Kusama chose to step back from the public eye until her participation in the Venice Biennale in 1993, which propelled her back onto the global art scene. Major international retrospectives have gradually established her as one of the leading figures in postwar art.

Kusama understood, long before many others, the importance of extending art and its language beyond the realm of museums and galleries by entering other spheres and thereby multiplying its communicative power. Her polka-dot motif has become a true visual code, almost a logo. The luxury industry could not ignore this potential.

The most iconic collaboration remains the one with Louis Vuitton. In 2012, under the leadership of Marc Jacobs, LVMH’s flagship brand incorporated Kusama’s polka dots into leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes, and accessories, showcasing them through spectacular pop-up stores. Ten years later, Louis Vuitton is reviving this collaboration with a collection launching in 2023, while monumental sculptures bearing Kusama’s signature are taking over building facades in Paris, London, New York, and Tokyo. Rarely has an artist’s universe been integrated on such a grand scale into that of a luxury house.

Other collaborations, notably with Lancôme, have continued this rich dialogue between art, fashion, and beauty. For brands, Kusama represented a valuable asset, thanks to her instantly recognizable, photogenic aesthetic that could be adapted in various ways without ever losing its artistic value.

Her auction record remains Untitled (Nets), a 1959 painting sold for $10.5 million at Phillips in 2022. The most sought-after “Pumpkins” have also surpassed the $7–8 million mark on several occasions. In fact, according to Artprice data, Kusama remained the world’s top-selling female artist by total auction sales in 2025.

From the Infinity Room to the Louis Vuitton bag, the inimitable artist with the red wig has demonstrated that art can become a universal and cross-cultural language without sacrificing a deeply personal signature.