Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her polka dot art, has died aged 97.

The global star of contemporary art was best known for her bold polka dot paintings, immersive "infinity room" installations and iconic red bob.

She died on 14 August at a hospital in Tokyo, her studio said. No cause of death was given.

Kusama was also well known for her pumpkins, which were a signature of her art from the 1940s onwards, and her infinity room mirrors.

"She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul," the studio's statement said.

"We will carry forward Kusama's wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world."

Kusama's fixation with polka dots and repetitive motifs were inspired by hallucinations she said she had from childhood in Japan.

She moved to New York to pursue art in 1957, where she became known for her anti-war performances in the late 1960s in which she adorned people's bodies with patterns.

It was there that she befriended artists such as Andy Warhol, Georgia O'Keeffe and Joseph Cornell.

Kusama was in and out of psychiatric institutions for decades, but she remained devoted to artwork that came to focus on her polka dot visions.

"Polka dots are fabulous," Kusama said in a 2012 interview.

"I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw," she said in her childlike but matter-of-fact tone.

"I will keep painting until I die."

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She signed on with fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products like teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations.

In 2008, Christie's auctioned one of her early dot paintings for $5.8m (£4.27m).

Kusama won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture, in 2016.

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