God's True Cashmere Customized Hat

Kelly Akashi's practice explores the impermanence of the natural world through rigorous conceptual inquiry and deep reverence for process. Working across glass-blowing, casting, candle-making, and stone carving, she records fragmented moments in time through sculpture — from towering weeds and delicate blown-glass flowers to bronze hands bearing the mark of aging flesh. Rooted in the Japanese concept of mono no aware, a wistful awareness of impermanence, her work approaches mortality not with dread but with poetic tenderness.

Born in Los Angeles in 1983, Akashi holds a BFA from Otis College of Art & Design and an MFA from the University of Southern California, and also studied at the Städelschule in Frankfurt. Recent solo exhibitions include presentations at Lisson Gallery Los Angeles, Fondazione Furla Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan, and the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, as well as a 10-year survey, "Formations," which traveled to the San José Museum of Art, Frye Art Museum, and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. She has also shown in group exhibitions at the Mori Art Museum, Hammer Museum, and Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, among others.

Akashi has been commissioned to create a monumental sculpture for JFK International Airport's New Terminal One, opening in 2026, and was selected by Hyundai Motor Company and the Whitney Museum for the Hyundai Terrace Commission at the Whitney Biennial 2026. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, LACMA, the Walker Art Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in both Los Angeles and San Diego, among others.

A portion of the proceeds from this sale will go in support of Samaritan's Purse International Relief.