Yayoi Kusama dies at 97: Japanese artist transformed her hallucinations into art

TOKYO - Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, who transformed hallucinations into art and was known for her obsessive dot-covered paintings and pumpkin motifs, has died at the age of 97.

The announcement made on her official website said she died on August 14 but did not give a cause of death.

Frustrated with the confining nature of Japanese society, Kusama left for New York at 27, where she quickly made a name for herself with her paintings, inspired by hallucinations of flashing lights, dots and flowers she had seen since childhood.

She also wrote, took part in anti-war activities during the 1960s, and reportedly influenced artists such as Andy Warhol.

Kusama, who was candid about her mental health struggles, said New York gave her neuroses. Around 1977, a few years after returning to Japan, she voluntarily entered a mental hospital and lived there for decades, being driven to her nearby studio each morning.

"I still see hallucinations even now," Kusama said in 2017.

"Dots come flying everywhere — on my dress, the floor, things I'm carrying, throughout the house, the ceiling. And I paint them."

-Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Hina Suzuki; Editing by Chris Cushing and Edwina Gibbs/Reuters