Before the infinity nets, there was ‘The Pacific Ocean’ – what origin stories focusing on Yayoi Kusama’s mental illness miss about her art

Yayoi Kusama reached toward the concept of infinity through polka dots. Y. Cheng/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Stories of Yayoi Kusama’s life often begin after she moved to New York City from Japan in 1958 and found near-overnight success with her abstract infinity net paintings. These evolved into the infinity rooms and polka-dotted pumpkins that became social media phenomena decades later and the focus of her legacy after her death on Aug. 14, 2026.

Yet, this timeline misses a crucial first step in how she became one of the art world’s most famous international superstars: A year earlier in 1957, before her move, she journeyed over the Pacific Ocean to show her work in the United States for the first time in a hopeful first step toward her dreams.