The Art World Reacts to Yayoi Kusama’s Passing
Artist Yayoi Kusama died on August 14 at age 97, prompting widespread tributes from artists, galleries, museums, and fashion brands that highlighted her influence through works such as dotted pumpkins and Infinity Mirror Rooms. Hyperallergic compiled 12 testimonies, including remarks from Glenn Scott Wright, president of Victoria Miro Gallery, who recalled decades of friendship with Kusama, and artist Dean Sameshima, who described her “tense” 1998 performance at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. British art historian Katy Hessel emphasized Kusama’s use of the dot as a cosmological and collective metaphor, while Museum Ludwig noted that its retrospective of Kusama ended on August 2 and drew more than 480,000 visitors over five months, the most successful exhibition in the institution’s history, according to David Zwirner gallery. Zwirner, who represented Kusama since 2013, wrote that she was “without a doubt, the most famous living artist in the world” at the time of her death.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Scandals, Stolen Jewels, and Art’s Lasting Power