Dots hit the spot with art lovers

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

For all the hype that surrounds superstar artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, the world's art lovers voted with their feet to make an 86-year-old Japanese woman the most popular artist of last year.

Yayoi Kusama's trademark polka-dotted sculptures and mirror installations proved a huge draw, with up to 9000 flocking to her touring exhibition a day - making her exhibitions the most visited in the world in 2014.

Yayoi Kusama's work has made her a hit around the world, including Wellington. Photo /Mark Mitchell

The Art Newspaper yesterday put out its annual figures for the most visited exhibitions in the world, saying 2014 "belongs to Yayoi Kusama".

Kusama's Infinite Obsession show was seen by more than 2 million people as it went on tour to South and Central America. A spokeswoman for Victoria Miro, the gallery that represents the artist in Britain, called her a "phenomenon".

"Kusama is the only one of our artists who sells on every continent. She's very rare in that she has this kind of credibility within the art world establishment, but she also has a very broad popular appeal," Glenn Scott Wright, co-director of Victoria Miro, told the Independent.

The Japanese artist's shows in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia were among the 20 most popular of the year, averaging 7957 to 8936 visitors a day. Koons' exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art attracted 3869 a day.

Kusama rose to prominence in the 1960s when she rubbed shoulders with artists such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenberg. In 2013, audiences queued for eight hours in New York to spend 45 seconds in one of her "infinity rooms" created from light and mirrors. Tate Modern had a successful Kusama show in early 2012.

Taiwan's National Palace Museum hosted the three most popular exhibitions of 2014, topped by Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty: Tang Yin, which attracted 1.1 million people - or 12,800 a day.