Yayoi Kusama: Japanese avant-garde artist dies aged 97

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist known for her polka-dot motifs and immersive "Infinity Rooms", has died aged 97.

Kusama became one of the world's most famous living artists, with a career spanning more than seven decades. Her work, which ranges from painting and sculpture to performance and installation art, often features repetitive patterns and a fascination with dots and nets.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama moved to the United States in the late 1950s and was a central figure in New York's avant-garde scene. She collaborated with artists and musicians and staged happenings that challenged social norms.

Her installations attracted huge crowds at major museums worldwide, and she maintained a prolific output while living voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo. Kusama's art addressed themes of self-obliteration, obsession and the sublime.

Her work has been the subject of major retrospectives and blockbuster exhibitions, cementing her status as a global cultural icon.