Yayoi Kusama

Hello! My name is Yayoi Kusama. I want to tell you my story, which is filled with color, patterns, and lots of dots! I was born on March 22nd, 1929, in a city called Matsumoto, Japan. Even when I was a little girl, I saw the world differently. Sometimes, the patterns on a tablecloth would seem to lift up and cover everything around me—the walls, the ceiling, and even myself! These visions could be scary, but they also inspired me. Around the age of ten, I started drawing and painting these patterns, especially polka dots. It was my way of making sense of the world and sharing what I saw in my mind.

As I grew up, my passion for art became my whole life. I attended art school in Japan, but I found the traditional rules too strict. I wanted to create art that was completely new and entirely my own. I dreamed of going to America, where I had heard exciting new art movements were happening. In the 1950s, I did something very brave. I found the address of a famous American artist named Georgia O'Keeffe and wrote her a letter, sending along some of my drawings and asking for her advice. To my surprise, she wrote back! Her encouragement gave me the courage I needed. In 1957, I had my first solo show in the United States, in Seattle, and the following year, in 1958, I finally moved to New York City.

New York City in the 1960s was a whirlwind of energy and creativity! It was a tough place to be a new artist, especially as a woman from Japan, but I was determined. I worked tirelessly in my chilly studio. I began creating my 'Infinity Net' paintings. These were huge canvases covered in thousands of tiny, looping brushstrokes, like a giant net stretching on forever. It was hard work, but when I painted, I felt my anxieties disappear into the repetition of the loops. I also started making sculptures, covering everyday objects like chairs and couches with soft, polka-dotted shapes. I was part of a new art movement called the avant-garde, and my art was unlike anything people had ever seen.

One of my biggest ideas came to me in 1965. I wanted people to feel like they were inside one of my visions. So, I created my very first 'Infinity Mirror Room.' I filled a room with some of my dotted sculptures and then lined the walls, ceiling, and floor with mirrors. When you stepped inside, the reflections made it seem like the sculptures and their dots went on forever in every direction—into infinity! It was like stepping into a magical, endless universe. This idea of infinity became one of the most important themes in my work, and I have created many different Infinity Mirror Rooms over the years for people all over the world to experience.

After many years in America, I returned to Japan in 1973. The fast pace of New York had been exciting but also exhausting for me. To take care of my health, in 1977 I made a decision that was right for me. I chose to live in a hospital in Tokyo that was calm and supportive. Just across the street, I set up my art studio. This arrangement has given me the peace I need to focus entirely on my art. Every single day, I go to my studio and create. My art has always been my medicine and my greatest joy, helping me turn my struggles into something beautiful and full of light.

For many years, some people didn't understand my art, but I never gave up. In 1993, I was chosen to represent my home country of Japan at a famous international art show called the Venice Biennale, which was a great honor. Since then, my work has traveled all over the globe. You might have seen my giant, yellow-and-black polka-dotted pumpkins or walked through one of my Infinity Mirror Rooms. I am now in my nineties, and I am still painting and creating every day. My hope is that my art brings people a sense of joy, wonder, and connection. I want to keep sharing my vision of infinity and love with the world for as long as I can.