Japan's Yayoi Kusama, one of the world's most celebrated contemporary artists, has died aged 97, her company said Thursday, triggering tributes from around the world.
The "polka dot queen" channelled hallucinations and battles with mental health into vibrant art featuring her trademark dots, nets and infinity motifs over a career spanning decades and continents.
"Throughout an extraordinary lifetime devoted entirely to artistic creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual art, performance, fiction and poetry," a statement said, announcing her death on Aug. 14.
"She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul," it added.
Born in 1929 to a wealthy and conservative family, Kusama began producing her unique signature art at age 10.
