28/08/2026
I can’t believe I’m writing this after spending the last four weeks celebrating this woman and her incredible work with our Young Artists 🧡
I read today that Yayoi Kusama has sadly passed away at the incredible age of 97. Over the past few weeks, our Young Artists have been learning about Kusama, exploring her unmistakable use of colour, repetition, pattern and dots, and creating their own artworks inspired by her wonderfully unique way of seeing the world.
And what an absolute JOY it has been. These artworks are colourful, strange, playful, bold, messy, detailed and completely individual. Not one Young Artist created the same thing. They took inspiration from Kusama and then let their own imaginations take over.
Only last week, I also shared her work with a group of adults in the studio, never knowing that she had already quietly passed away.
How special that even in the final weeks of her life, her art was inspiring a whole new generation of little artists on the other side of the world. I’m feeling a little emotional about this, guys.
97 years of life. An extraordinary career. And a creative legacy that will continue long beyond her lifetime!
Thank you for the colour, the dots, the flowers, the wonderfully weird and the reminder that art doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else.
Vale, Yayoi Kusama. 1929–2026. 🌸🔴🟡🟣
An icon.
