Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist known for her penchant for polka dots, died earlier this month at the age of 97.
Art lovers in Western New York had the chance to see Kusama's work up close this past year with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum's installment of "One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama." The interactive exhibit featured large polka-dotted pumpkins, a mirrored room filled with polka-dotted figures, a dark room with illuminated, polka-dotted spheres, and plenty of information on Kusama's lifelong dedication to her work.
The museum mourned Kusama's passing with a statement posted on social media Thursday morning.
"The Buffalo AKG is saddened to learn of the death of artist Yayoi Kusama. For nearly a year, we were honored to present an exhibition of works by the artist, "One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama." This exhibition ended in July 2026, but endowed the museum and its community with lasting memories and experiences of this influential and distinctive artist's work," the statement read.
It continued: "Visitors explored Kusama’s unique vision of self-obliteration, a radical approach to connecting with others and the universe. Observing one’s body in the infinite space of a mirrored room or losing one’s sense of place by navigating a field of colorful lamps, the boundary between the self and the outside world is dissolved and visitors become one with everything around them, one with eternity."