Hyundai Terrace Commission: Kelly Akashi

Glass-brick sculpture and path installed on the Whitney's rooftop terrace.

Why go

Akashi rebuilds her burned home's chimney and walkway in luminous glass brick as *Monument (Altadena)*, while *Inheritance (Distressed)* cuts her grandmother's doily into Cor-Ten steel—a material historically coded masculine—to explore how women artists reckon with familial and artistic legacies.

What to expect

A multi-part outdoor installation on the Whitney's fifth-floor terrace featuring a tall glass-brick sculptural tower with matching glass-brick pathway, a steel relief work, works on paper, and an outdoor-screen animation across the terrace and adjacent spaces.

Things to know

• Part of Whitney Biennial 2026 (March 8–August 23, 2026)
• Artist's home and studio destroyed in Eaton Fire, January 2025; chimney was sole structure left standing
• *Monument (Altadena)* reconstructs the chimney and home's walkway in glass brick
• *Inheritance (Distressed)* uses grandmother's doily saved from garage sale, later lost in fire, cut into Cor-Ten steel
• Organized by Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator, and Drew Sawyer, Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography
• Part of multiyear Hyundai Motor partnership supporting annual terrace commissions

Plan your visit

The terrace commission is part of the Whitney Biennial 2026; advance tickets are recommended. Open March 8–August 23, 2026.