Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929, Matsumoto) is a defining figure of post-war art and, by many measures, the most popular living artist in the world. From her radical Infinity Net paintings made in 1950s–60s New York — where she worked alongside, and anticipated, the pop and minimalist avant-garde — to the polka-dotted pumpkins and mirrored Infinity Rooms that draw record museum attendance today, Kusama has transformed personal obsession into a universal visual language. She represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1993, and her work is held by virtually every major collection of contemporary art, from MoMA to Tate. Her pumpkin and dot editions are among the most sought-after prints in the contemporary market.