8 February 2012Last updated at 14:33

In Pictures: Yayoi Kusama retrospective

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has made a rare appearance in the UK to mark the opening of a major retrospective of her work at Tate Modern. It is her first visit outside Japan for 12 years.

The 82-year-old has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric institution since 1977 but works in a studio across the street to create her art. She is known for the signature recurring polka dots which dominate her work.

Kusama is renowned for her large-scale "environment" installations, and the new exhibition will include Kusama's mirrored rooms which the Tate says have "an almost hallucinatory intensity that reflects her unique vision of the world".

Infinity Mirrored Room - Filled with the Brilliance of Live 2011

It will also feature a new installation created especially for the show, Infinity Mirrored Room - Filled with the Brilliance of Life 2011. It is the artist's largest mirrored room to date.

The retrospective spans work over six decades highlighting the artist's moments of most intense innovation.

Self-Obliteration No.2 1967 © Yayoi Kusama

Kusama was a mainstay of the modern art scene in 1960's New York before she moved back to Japan in 1973. Her work is seen to have influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.

Late Night Chat Is Filled With Dreams © Yayoi Kusama

The artist told The Times: "I have been using polka dots since I was a child. It's only after that that it seems to have become very popular throughout the art world." The exhibition will run at Tate Modern from 9 February to 5 June.

Entertainment & Arts

In Pictures: Yayoi Kusama retrospective

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