New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, recognised globally for her psychedelic polka dots and whimsical pumpkin sculptures, passed away recently at age 97. However, it took her studio a fortnight to issue a statement: "Throughout an extraordinary lifetime devoted entirely to artistic creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual art, performance, fiction, and poetry. She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul."

Born in Matsumoto, a historic city in the Nagano prefecture in Japan in 1929, she endured a difficult childhood within an affluent but...