Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Kelly Akashi: Formations presents an overview of a decade of work, including glass and cast bronze objects, multipart sculptural installations, and photographic work. It also includes a newly commissioned body of work that explores the inherited impact of the artist’s father’s imprisonment in a Japanese American incarceration camp in Poston, Arizona during World War II.

Organized by the San José Museum of Art, Kelly Akashi: Formations is the first major exhibition and catalog of Akashi’s work. The exhibition will be on view from September 21, 2023 – February 18, 2024 in San Diego, following presentations at the San José Museum of Art and the Frye Art Museum, Seattle.

Kelly Akashi: Formations is organized by the San José Museum of Art and curated by Lauren Schell Dickens, Chief Curator. The presentation at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is organized by Jill Dawsey, PhD, Senior Curator, MCASD.

Archive of Touch: Material Metaphor

Kelly Akashi documents time through transforming materials and objects. Whether blowing glass, making impressions with clay, or sculpting, her artworks are literal and metaphorical symbols of how time evolves. In this interactive installation, we welcome visitors to grab objects, some that are malleable and some that aren't, and discover through touch how objects change. This tactile activity encourages you to slow down, be present with your touch, sense, and experience firsthand how things change over time, stirring questioning about ephemerality, progression, and life cycles.