Artwork: Sculpture by Kelly Akashi, Lisson Gallery solo exhibition, February 2025

Kelly Akashi’s inaugural exhibition with Lisson Gallery in Los Angeles was tragically intervened by the Los Angeles fires where Akashi’s studio and house were destroyed, alongside so many other Angelenos. The devastating loss did not deter Akashi from going ahead with the exhibition rescheduled a month later in February. Reaching out to locals Akashi was able to crowdsource materials and studio spaces to complete the work, refiguring her sculptures that feature glass, earth, stone and bronze elements. Akashi was able to save some bronze cast and borosilicate pieces from her burnt studio, incorporating these works with their altered patina; a sombre reminder of so much loss, the pieces transformed by fire.

As with previous exhibitions, Akashi’s hands are cast in bronze, holding various objects, or a partial cast of her face features sprouting a natural form, in this case glass branches or horns. Elements from nature such as twigs, seed pods and flowers are reformed in bronze or glass, where organic and inorganic substances are shaped to speak to a poetic, complex and delicate interaction. Akashi also included in this project a number of lace doilies that belonged to her grandmother, heirlooms suggesting her family lineage and the passing down through time not simply of objects but shared memories and experiences of Akashi’s personal history.

Out of tragedy, Akashi triumphed with this exhibition which showcased the alchemical transformation of matter in her art, and of the regenerative potential in nature and life itself.