Yayoi Kusama has died

Japanese avant-garde creator Yayoi Kusama, who became celebrated for her colourful polka dot-covered sculptures and installations, has died astatine the property of 97.

Kusama, who had voluntarily lived successful a psychiatric infirmary for decades, was known for her agleam reddish wig and her giant, quirky creations.

Her exhibitions drew ample crowds astir the world, and her vibrant useful fetched immoderate of the highest ever prices for a female artist.

A connection from her institution said: "Throughout an bonzer life devoted wholly to creator creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed profession arsenic a pioneering avant-garde creator whose imaginative believe encompassed ocular art, performance, fiction, and poetry."

Kusama died astatine a infirmary successful Tokyo connected 14 August, the connection said.

It added: "She continued to overgarment until her last days, ne'er mounting speech her brush, and continued exploration of everlastingly emotion and eternal soul.

"We will transportation guardant Kusama's wishes and, done art, proceed to bring dream and spot for the early to group astir the world."

Kusama became 1 of the world's astir recognisable artists and a world taste icon successful her 80s and 90s, aft having been mostly overlooked for decades.

Poorly received by a masculine-dominated creation segment of New York successful the 1960s, Kusama caused a operation pinch her exhibitions of phallic sculptures, including a cloth couch, and predominant displays of nudity.

In 1965, her activity "Infinity Mirror Rooms", successful which mirrors and lights create seemingly endless spaces, attracted millions of visitors. Later, her polka dot and pumpkin useful became highly sought-after.

However, she became distressed erstwhile her ideas were copied by aliases "inspired" her antheral contemporaries – including Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and Lucas Samaras – whose useful would beryllium displayed astatine much prestigious galleries.

After spending years watching antheral artists summation nickname for her work, she returned location to Japan – emotion dejected and distraught.

She entered a psychiatric installation receiving curen for intelligence illnesses, wherever she would unrecorded and activity for the remainder of her life.

Miraculously, she managed to find a infirmary wherever the doctors were willing successful creation therapy and checked herself in. Such a unafraid situation allowed her to attraction connected creating art.

Through the 1970s and early 80s, her activity depicted uncharacteristically acheronian series' of collages successful which she embraced the imagery of earthy life cycles.

Kusama went connected to go Japan's first solo creator to correspond the state astatine the 1993 Venice Biennale. Twenty-seven years earlier, she had turned up, uninvited, and laid down 1,500 reflector balls connected the ground.

The roaring occurrence of the accumulation led to a immense translator successful really she was received some successful Japan and abroad.

In 2001, she was awarded the Asahi Prize – recognising outstanding cultural, world and creator contributions successful Japan.

One of her paintings fetched astir $10.5m (£7.7m) astatine auction successful 2022, making her useful immoderate of the highest-earning successful the world for a female artist.

She held awesome exhibitions astir the world, including astatine the Tate Modern assemblage successful London, which was ran for 3 years aft being extended respective times because of its popularity.

Catherine Wood, interim head of Tate Modern, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme connected Thursday it was "our astir visited accumulation of each clip because group really emotion Kusama's work".

The accumulation invited visitors into the artist's Infinity Mirror Rooms.

"You would measurement successful location and the lights would spell down, and it felt for illustration you were looking into the mysteries of the Universe," Wood said. "She was very bully astatine conjuring this consciousness of wonderment and infinity that she was obsessed with."

As a child, Kusama knowledgeable hallucinations of embers and flashing – later utilizing her creation arsenic a conveyance for others to understand her imagination of the world.

"One day, aft seeing a tablecloth pinch a reddish flower shape connected a desk, I saw the aforesaid reddish flower shape each complete the ceiling, windows and pillars. It filled the room, and covered my body," she wrote successful her autobiography.

Kusama was calved successful 1929 successful the agrarian provincial municipality of Matsumoto, based successful the cardinal Nagano region of Japan.

Her parents did not support her early moves to study coating successful Kyoto.

She was later told her artistry caused awesome shame to her blimpish family. Some elements of the US property besides criticised what they perceived arsenic an endless desire for publicity – either successful her messaging promoting bid aliases critiquing the creation establishment.

The world, on pinch her autochthonal Japan, radically changed its cognition of Kusama successful her later life.

Social media fuelled a spike successful liking complete caller years – pinch her museum's bold floral shapes and shiny alloy orbs turning into a desired backdrop for selfies and poses.

Among her galore motifs, the pumpkin has go iconic successful her works. To her, the rootlike represented comfortableness and nostalgia.

She erstwhile said successful an interview: "Pumpkins speak to me.

"They embody a consciousness of stableness and gives maine bid of mind."