Yayoi Kusama, the internationally renowned Japanese artist, died on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. For more than 70 years, she invited audiences to participate in her groundbreaking visions of infinity. In the past thirty years, her acclaim grew exponentially, with her art presented across the globe.  

In 2018, thousands of visitors came to the AGO to experience Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, making it one of the Gallery’s most popular exhibitions. Bringing together key works from Kusama’s remarkable career, the major exhibition also presented the evolution of her immersive, multi-reflective installations.

The exhibition sparked an extraordinary response from the AGO community. Thanks to the generosity of over 4,700 #InfinityAGO donors who participated in the crowdfunding campaign, along with support from the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, the AGO acquired INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER (2017) for its permanent collection. Since the acquisition, the beloved installation continues to mesmerize visitors to the Gallery.  

Featuring a whimsical assortment of stainless-steel orbs hanging from the ceiling and dotting the floor, LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is a fully mirrored room that endlessly reflects the viewer’s own image. The centre of the room features a large, mirrored pillar with small portholes to transport viewers further into their own obliteration. The installation offers an otherworldly experience for which Kusama’s installations are famous.  

This room continues the visual language she developed beginning in the 1960s: kaleidoscopic, mirrored environments, silver orbs and complete immersion.    

As the art world reflects on Kusama's impact, take a moment to learn more about her decades-long practice and the meaning behind this infinitely intriguing work of art. 

Yayoi Kusama. INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER (detail), 2017. wood, metal, glass mirrors, LED lighting system, monofilament, stainless steel balls and carpet, Installed: 312.4 × 624.8 × 622.9 cm (123 × 246 × 245 1/4 in.). Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchased with funds from the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, Michelle Koerner & Kevin Doyle, Robert Dorrance & Gail Drummond, The Schulich Foundation, Soichiro & Junko Yamamoto, Diane Bald & Michael Budman, Don & Denyse Green, DH Gales Foundation, Maxine Granovsky Gluskin & Ira Gluskin, Barry Appleton & Magaly Bianchini, Emmanuelle Gattuso, Sheryle & David Saunders, Robin & David Young, Laura E. Baldini, Diana Billes, Edison Chai, Julian Chan & Yi Hyun Park, The Francis and Denise Connolly Family, Creeds, Eileen Farrow, Ivan Fecan & Sandra Faire, Hallisey Family, Victoria Jackman, Val Koziol, David Kozman & Kristin Blakely-Kozman, The Charles & Jane Kucey Foundation Fund, Jämes Lee & the Julie Institute, Chelsea Longaphy & Bernie Li, Martha LA McCain, Abby, Perry & Jordan Minuk, Carolyn D. Mullin, Samuel & Alice Peralta, In Memory of Pierrette & Abel Rancourt, Heather & Aaron Regent, Shevlen Family, Mary Sinclair, Jay Smith & Laura Rapp, J. Kenneth & Margaret Syer-Torrance, and the generosity of thousands of art lovers, 2018. © Yayoi Kusama, Courtesy David Zwirner, New York; Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London/Venice. Photo: AGO. 2018/28

Kusama had an innovative and diverse career spanning more than seven decades. Born in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan, in 1929, she studied traditional Japanese painting in her teenage years and, around age 30, relocated to New York City. Active at the same time as Pop art icons Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, she became a staple of the avant-garde art movement of 1960s New York. Developing work through new mediums like sculpture and performance art, Kusama’s fame grew throughout the 1960s as she became bolder and more radical in her approach. She held large-scale anti-war happenings (mostly in 1968) and built polka-dot-covered phallic objects. In 1966, her first infinity room (Infinity Mirror Room: Phalli’s Field) was created.  

Yayoi Kusama. INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM - LET'S SURVIVE FOREVER, 2017. wood, metal, glass mirrors, LED lighting system, monofilament, stainless steel balls and carpet, Installed: 312.4 × 624.8 × 622.9 cm (123 × 246 × 245 1/4 in.). Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchased with funds from the David Yuile & Mary Elizabeth Hodgson Fund, Michelle Koerner & Kevin Doyle, Robert Dorrance & Gail Drummond, The Schulich Foundation, Soichiro & Junko Yamamoto, Diane Bald & Michael Budman, Don & Denyse Green, DH Gales Foundation, Maxine Granovsky Gluskin & Ira Gluskin, Barry Appleton & Magaly Bianchini, Emmanuelle Gattuso, Sheryle & David Saunders, Robin & David Young, Laura E. Baldini, Diana Billes, Edison Chai, Julian Chan & Yi Hyun Park, The Francis and Denise Connolly Family, Creeds, Eileen Farrow, Ivan Fecan & Sandra Faire, Hallisey Family, Victoria Jackman, Val Koziol, David Kozman & Kristin Blakely-Kozman, The Charles & Jane Kucey Foundation Fund, Jämes Lee & the Julie Institute, Chelsea Longaphy & Bernie Li, Martha LA McCain, Abby, Perry & Jordan Minuk, Carolyn D. Mullin, Samuel & Alice Peralta, In Memory of Pierrette & Abel Rancourt, Heather & Aaron Regent, Shevlen Family, Mary Sinclair, Jay Smith & Laura Rapp, J. Kenneth & Margaret Syer-Torrance, and the generosity of thousands of art lovers, 2018. © Yayoi Kusama, Courtesy David Zwirner, New York; Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London/Venice. Photo: AGO. 2018/28

Since then, her work with mirrors and reflection has focused primarily on the idea of self-obliteration. LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER uses the infinite reflection of the subject (the viewer) and the motif of polka dots to visually allow the self to disappear into the eternal abyss. The clever irony of this concept in our modern, social media era of selfies might be Kusama’s most important contribution yet.

INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER is on view in the Sam & Ayala Zacks Pavilion at the AGO on Level 2. Also on view is Earth is a Polka Dot (2011), an eight-minute interview with Kusama, produced by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.