by Mayté Rodríguez Cedillo & Fernando Favela·  Far East & Beyond  ·  BajaTraveler.com
photos Courtesy Loren V. Villalobos Aguirre & Museo Tamayo

In a small mirrored chamber in downtown Los Angeles, a visitor stands alone for exactly forty-five seconds inside what feels like a universe of stars — hundreds of points of light repeating without end in every direction, a horizon that never quite arrives. It remains one of the most photographed experiences in contemporary art anywhere in the world.

AT A GLANCE — Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist behind the Infinity Mirror Rooms and signature polka-dot pumpkins, died August 14, 2026, in Tokyo at 97; her studio announced it publicly on August 27. Her work remains on permanent view in Tokyo, Naoshima, and Los Angeles, and a major European retrospective runs at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum through January 2027.

A Life Devoted to Repetition and Infinity
Kusama was born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, in Japan’s Nagano prefecture, into a family of seed merchants, and spent a lifetime translating childhood hallucinations of dots and light into paint, fabric, and mirrored glass. She trained in the traditional Nihonga style in Kyoto before moving to New York in 1957, where she spent more than a decade at the center of the city’s avant-garde, developing the Infinity Net paintings and room-scale mirror installations that would define her career, and forming friendships with Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe along the way. Art historians widely credit her as a precursor to pop art, minimalism, and feminist art. She returned to Japan in 1973, and in 1977 chose, by her own decision, to live at a psychiatric facility in Tokyo — a choice she spoke about openly for decades, working daily from a nearby studio until her final days.

The Announcement, Nearly Two Weeks Later
Kusama’s studio confirmed only the date and location of her death, without specifying a cause, in a statement released August 27 — nearly two weeks after she died. The Japanese wire service Jiji Press later reported that she died of multi-organ failure.

According to her studio, she continued painting until close to the end, holding onto the belief — voiced throughout her career — that art and love could still save the world. David Zwirner, her gallery representative for the past fifteen years, issued his own tribute, describing her as the most famous living artist in the world at the time of her death, and recalling the hour-long lines that formed outside galleries whenever a new Kusama show opened.

Her Mark on México
Kusama’s clearest connection to BajaTraveler’s own coverage territory dates to September 2014, when Mexico City’s Museo Tamayo opened “Obsesión Infinita,” the first full retrospective of her work ever staged in Latin America. More than 100 pieces spanning six decades, from her earliest Infinity Net paintings to major installations, drew crowds that overwhelmed the museum: as its January 2015 closing approached, Tamayo held its doors open for 36 consecutive hours to accommodate demand, ultimately welcoming close to 320,000 visitors, a record for a Mexican museum at the time. For an entire generation of Mexican museum-goers, it was their introduction to an artist whose dots and mirrors would go on to define a decade of Instagram.

A Legacy Without Borders
By the time of her death, Kusama was widely regarded as the world’s most commercially successful living female artist, with her pumpkin sculptures and Infinity Mirror Rooms drawing crowds from Tokyo to London to São Paulo. A major touring retrospective — jointly organized by Fondation Beyeler, Museum Ludwig, and the Stedelijk Museum — continues into 2027, carrying her seven-decade career to new audiences even as the art world mourns her passing. Few artists have made the simple act of standing inside a room feel like an experience worth crossing oceans for. Kusama did it for half a century, and the rooms she left behind aren’t going anywhere.

✦ BAJATRAVELER® TAKEAWAY
Kusama didn’t just make art people looked at — she made art people stood inside, waited in line for, and flew across the world to feel. Her death closes a seven-decade chapter, but it doesn’t close the work: touring retrospectives, permanent installations, and the memory of a Mexico City museum that stayed open for 36 straight hours to meet demand mean her infinite universe is still fully open to visitors. For travelers who never got to experience it firsthand, there’s no better time to start.

Where to See Her Work Today
01 Yayoi Kusama Museum — Tokyo, Japan
The artist’s own museum in Shinjuku, opened in 2017. Exhibitions rotate rather than holding a fixed display, so each visit shows a different side of her seven-decade career.
02 The Naoshima Pumpkin — Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Her iconic yellow, polka-dotted pumpkin has sat at the end of a pier at Benesse Art Site Naoshima since 1994 (rebuilt in 2022 after typhoon damage) — one of the most photographed public artworks in Japan.
03 Matsumoto City Museum of Art — Matsumoto, Japan
In her hometown, a monumental pumpkin sculpture stands outside the museum that holds one of the deepest collections of her early work.
04 Stedelijk Museum — Amsterdam, Netherlands
The final stop of a major European touring retrospective, running September 11, 2026 through January 17, 2027, after acclaimed runs at Fondation Beyeler in Basel and Museum Ludwig in Cologne.
05 The Broad — Los Angeles, California
Two Infinity Mirror Rooms — “The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away” (2013) and “Longing for Eternity” (2017) — are on permanent view. Advance reservations are required.
06 Museo Tamayo — Mexico City, México
Not currently on view, but historically significant: this is where “Obsesión Infinita” introduced Kusama to Latin America in 2014, becoming one of the most-attended exhibitions in Mexican museum history.

Plan Your Visit
Advance tickets are strongly recommended for every Infinity Mirror Room on this list — most sell out days or weeks ahead, and timed entry is standard across venues.
→ yayoikusamamuseum.jp │ thebroad.org │ stedelijk.nl

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When did Yayoi Kusama die?
On August 14, 2026, in a Tokyo hospital, at age 97. Her studio announced the death publicly on August 27.
What did Yayoi Kusama die of?
Her studio’s statement didn’t specify a cause. The Japanese wire service Jiji Press later reported multi-organ failure.
What is Yayoi Kusama best known for?
Her Infinity Mirror Rooms, polka-dot motifs, and giant pumpkin sculptures, spanning seven decades of painting, sculpture, installation, and performance art.
Where can travelers see Yayoi Kusama’s art today?
Permanent installations are on view at the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo, Benesse Art Site Naoshima, and The Broad in Los Angeles. A major touring retrospective runs at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam through January 17, 2027.
Did Yayoi Kusama ever exhibit in Mexico?
Yes. Mexico City’s Museo Tamayo hosted “Obsesión Infinita” from September 2014 to January 2015 — her first retrospective in Latin America — drawing nearly 320,000 visitors.