> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97 - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/yayoi-kusama-dies-at-97/ - Published: 2026-08-27T10:00:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T17:46:25.000Z - Description: The superstar Japanese artist passed away in a Tokyo hospital, an exhibition brings treasures from the ancient city to the US, ex-Pussy Riot member says Russia recruited her to spy, and more. - Author: Hyperallergic - Tags: Daily Newsletter, Newsletter Yayoi Kusama, one of the world's most popular artists, died at a Tokyo hospital on August 14 at the age of 97\. Her studio shared the news last night. Senior Editor Valentina Di Liscia remembers the idiosyncratic Japanese artist, who reached legend status during her lifetime. If your art history leans Western, you likely know them as Indian “miniature paintings” — but let’s put a stop to that. A recent book on art from the Pahari region reviewed by Nageen Shaikh argues that the term is, well, minimizing. Besides, the name actually derives from the use of the red “minium” pigment, so, bit of a misnomer anyway — and as we know from running an art publication, words matter. History will come to life — and to Dallas — in the form of an exhibition of more than 160 treasures from Pompeii, drawn from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. But important things are happening in this millennium, too: A former member of the feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot claims that she was recruited by Russia to spy on other artists, and painter and printmaker Elizabeth Peyton is being sued for copyright infringement. Plus, an artist introduces a device that slows a bike’s brakes in less-affordable neighborhoods, turning wealth inequality into physical sensation. That’s what art can do: Make ideas visceral. *—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor* --- [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/citibike.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-device-slows-down-citi-bikes-in-less-affordable-neighborhoods/) [ Artist’s Device Slows Down Citi Bikes in Less Affordable Neighborhoods ](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-device-slows-down-citi-bikes-in-less-affordable-neighborhoods/) While biking the perimeter of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, on a sunny August afternoon, the pedal strokes are smooth. On the Citi Bike, I ease through all of Park Slope and most of Windsor Terrace, but as I bike through Prospect Lefferts Gardens, also known as Flatbush, tension builds. When I enter the park at Lincoln Avenue, where Flatbush begins, there is a massive shift in my ability to move. It is jarring, and I’m forced to dismount. I’m riding around with a device attached to the e-bike that manipulates the brakes depending on the levels of rent affordability in the neighborhood you’re biking through. The device is an artwork called “Ground Truth,” Justin Blinder’s latest creation and part of an exhibition with the same name. | Eliana Perozo [Read More ](https://hyperallergic.com/artists-device-slows-down-citi-bikes-in-less-affordable-neighborhoods/) --- SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/EXPLORE-YOUR-FUTURE--1--2.jpg)](https://www.pratt.edu/continuing-and-professional-studies/certificates/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Pratt Institute’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) certificates support professional development, educational advancement, career change, and personal enrichment for both amateurs and professionals. Participants can attend in-person, online, or hybrid courses across 17 different art and design disciplines. Register now for the Fall Certificate Programs. [Explore Here ](https://www.pratt.edu/continuing-and-professional-studies/certificates/?ref=hyperallergic.com) --- ## News ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/image-35-1.png) - Artist Yayoi Kusama, who captured the hearts of millions through her entrancing paintings, immersive mirror rooms, and radical message of love and acceptance, has [died at the age of 97](https://hyperallergic.com/yayoi-kusama-artist-of-infinities-dies-at-97/). - Ex-Pussy Riot Member Margarita Konovalova, who went by the alias Rita Flores, claims [she was coerced by Russia](https://hyperallergic.com/ex-pussy-riot-member-says-she-was-recruited-by-russia-to-spy-on-artists/) to spy on other dissident artists. - An exhibition of artifacts from Pompeii [will make its United States debut](https://hyperallergic.com/major-exhibition-of-pompeii-treasures-will-make-its-us-debut/) at the Dallas Museum of Art this December. - Welsh music photographer Justin Thomas [is accusing painter Elizabeth Peyton](https://hyperallergic.com/artist-elizabeth-peyton-sued-over-painting-of-oasis-brothers/) of copyright infringement on his photograph of Liam and Noel Gallagher of the British rock band Oasis. --- ## From Our Critics [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/holi-painting.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/can-we-stop-calling-south-asian-painting-miniature/) [ Can We Stop Calling South Asian Painting “Miniature”? ](https://hyperallergic.com/can-we-stop-calling-south-asian-painting-miniature/) A book on 18th-century Pahari painting warns against thinking of these works as “miniatures,” a Western term, instead illuminating the artistic collaboration and ways of life at their heart. | Nageen Shaikh [Read More ](https://hyperallergic.com/can-we-stop-calling-south-asian-painting-miniature/) --- SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/mitchell-johnson-three-chairs.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/mitchell-johnson-twenty-one-years-in-truro-selected-paintings-1988-2026/) ****Mitchell Johnson: “Twenty-One Years in Truro (Selected Paintings 1988–2026)”** The artist’s sixth solo exhibition at Castle Hill will open to the public on September 8, 2026. [Learn more ](https://hyperallergic.com/mitchell-johnson-twenty-one-years-in-truro-selected-paintings-1988-2026/) --- ## Community [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/marijke-de-roover.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/remembering-marijke-de-roover-sliman-mansour-and-fabrizio-plessi/) [ Remembering Marijke De Roover, Sliman Mansour, and Fabrizio Plessi ](https://hyperallergic.com/remembering-marijke-de-roover-sliman-mansour-and-fabrizio-plessi/) This week, we honor a feminist Belgian performance artist, an icon of Palestinian liberation, and an Italian video art pioneer. [Read More ](https://hyperallergic.com/remembering-marijke-de-roover-sliman-mansour-and-fabrizio-plessi/) --- ## Member Comment Wonderful article on Valadon, a joy to see and read! I do think it’s important to emphasize the role of Degas in her emergence as a significant artist. He was early to discover her powerful incisive draftsmanship, encouraged her, and bought and collected her work He was an enthusiastic admirer of her work, which is a great testament to her artistic importance. —Alex Clark on "[Model, Rebel, and Painter, Suzanne Valadon Defied the Odds](https://hyperallergic.com/suzanne-valadon-model-painter-rebel/)" --- ## From the Archive [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/2026/08/tarot-cards.jpg)](https://hyperallergic.com/how-a-tarot-deck-led-to-a-revolution/) [ How a Tarot Deck Led to a Revolution ](https://hyperallergic.com/how-a-tarot-deck-led-to-a-revolution/) What makes *The Tarot of A. E. Waite and P. Colman Smith* stand out is how much the book emphasizes the creative process and treats the cards like art.| AX Mina [Read More ](https://hyperallergic.com/how-a-tarot-deck-led-to-a-revolution/)