Yayoi Kusama, who rose to fame for her polka-dot and infinity-marked art style, passed away on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was confirmed on her website on August 27, 2026, prompting an outpouring of tributes from the art world. While her admirers mourn the loss, let’s take a look at her journey.
Yayoi Kusama’s abusive mother and father’s infidelity caused her fear of intimacy
The world is well aware of the artist Yayoi Kusama. However, not many know about the traumatic journey she endured to get there. According to the documentary Kusama: Infinity, Yayoi endured things that no young girl should have to face. Born in 1929 in the rural provincial town of Matsumoto, she always knew she had a knack for art. However, her family was anything but supportive.
In fact, her mother would take away her art supplies and tell her that she would “get married and have kids – and not just get married but have an arranged marriage.” Yayoi Kusama’s mother’s habit of snatching her art led her to develop an obsessive compulsion to finish a piece before it could be taken away. And as if that was not enough, her mother, frustrated with Yayoi’s father’s infidelity, would force her daughter to spy on him with his lovers.
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