Over the past two days in the entertainment and arts field, we’ve lost three huge superstars. Dolly Parton, the well-loved Country singer and incredible philanthropist; Tim Curry, the fearless actor from The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and now avante-garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

Yayoi’s instantly recognizable polka dots and infinity nets will live on forever in the art world. Many times when she would have an exhibition, her tickets would sell more than those of artists with bigger names like Picasso or Monet. This was because in this modern Instagram world, Yayoi’s pumpkins and polka dot mirror rooms are some of the most photographed objects in the world.

After moving to New York in the 1950s and influencing major artists like Andy Warhol, Yayoi physically and mentally deteriorated. She moved back to Japan in 1973, and after a suicide attempt, lived in a hospital for the mentally ill for the rest of her life. Her only salvation was art, as she made daily excursions to her studio and put out a blistering amount of work.

She said, “I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieved my illness is to keep creating art. I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live.”