It’s the final weekend of Frieze LA, and if you’re looking to cap off your art-filled experience with some unforgettable exhibitions, these four shows are a must-see. From meditative installations to vibrant explorations of contemporary anxieties, each offers a distinct encounter with painting, sculpture, and immersive environments. Kelly Akashi reflects on resilience, reconstructing her works after wildfire devastation, while Woody De Othello transforms the gallery into an altered landscape—complete with evocative lighting, music, and sand—surrounding his ceramics, bronze sculptures, and works on paper. George Rouy presents hauntingly beautiful faceless figures alongside a special performance, closing with a final show today, Saturday, February 22, at 7:30 PM. Meanwhile, Mr. makes his long-awaited return to the West Coast with his first major solo exhibition in over a decade, featuring his signature colorful figures that probe the anxieties of modern life. Don’t miss these captivating experiences before Frieze LA comes to a close!
Kelly Akashi at Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery’s exhibition with Los Angeles-based artist Kelly Akashi is a powerful testament to
resilience, transformation, and renewal. Originally set to open on January 31, the exhibition
took on new meaning after Akashi lost her home and studio in the devastating wildfires that
swept through Los Angeles in early 2025.
With immense determination and community support, she rebuilt her body of work, incorporating salvaged bronze and glass pieces from the wreckage, now marked by fire’s imprint. The exhibition features an intricate landscape of materials—stone, marble, glass, lace, and bronze—arranged in organic formations that evoke cycles of destruction and regeneration.
Delicate glass flowers, cast body parts, and oxidized steel plinths intermingle with heirloom lace from Akashi’s grandmother, underscoring the tension between permanence and fragility. A striking highlight is an elaborate borosilicate glass sphere, showcasing the artist’s mastery of impossibly intricate forms. Through her alchemical approach, Akashi reveals the ever-changing nature of existence, where even destruction holds the promise of renewal.
The exhibition is on view at Lisson Gallery until March 29th, 2025 1037 N. Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles
Woody De Othello’s Tuning the Dial at Karma Gallery
Tuning the Dial, Woody De Othello’s first solo exhibition at Karma Gallery in Los Angeles, is an immersive installation blending ceramic and bronze sculpture, works on paper, sound, and light. Inspired by the unseen emotional frequencies humans carry, Othello creates a sensory experience that encourages viewers to recalibrate their internal compass.
Othello takes inspiration from the landscape and energy of California, where he calls home now. “I think there’s something about the energy, the connection to land and nature, the kind of like pace that Californians move at that attracts a certain type of kindred energy to be out here making clay work,” Othello shares. Othello feels drawn to utilizing clay because it is “really intuitive. It just makes sense. It is part of all of human consciousness in a type of way. We all know what it is like to populate the earth, as
substances from the earth, so it already has some kind of tele-communicative intelligence there,” Othello reflects.
The exhibition opens with bronze sculptures that merge human forms with sound technology, blurring the lines between seeing, hearing, and feeling. In the next space, Othello’s ceramic works sit atop drum-inspired pedestals, glowing under warm, orange light that transforms the gallery into a meditative environment. The final installation invites visitors to traverse a sand-covered floor, referencing ancient African civilizations and mirroring Othello’s own journey of self-discovery through art, while featuring works on paper in the space. By integrating sound, material, and movement, Tuning the Dial explores the spiritual energy embedded in objects and the interconnected nature of perception and emotion.
The exhibition is on view at Karma through April 5th, 2025 7351 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles
George Rouy’s The Bleed Part II at Hauser & Wirth
British artist, George Rouy, opened his first US solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth on February 18th. Expanding on themes from his recent London show, Rouy explores the fluidity of human form, emotion, and movement in a world shaped by digital fragmentation and existential tension. His figures, often faceless and blurred, seem to dissolve into their surroundings, creating a visceral push-and-pull between presence and erasure. “I think removing the faces allows you to focus purely on the body and aspects of kind of like equal value where these abstract or abstractive narratives have the same value as the hands and the more detailed areas,” explains Rouy. In this new body of work, Rouy introduces color to his signature monochromatic compositions, heightening the sensation of weight, energy, and fleeting illumination. His paintings recall the dramatic intensity of art historical masterworks, while reimagining contemporary struggles with alienation and connection.
Rouy debuted ‘BODYSUIT’ in the US this week, a live performance created in collaboration with renowned choreographer Sharon Eyal. “I met Sharon maybe 6 or 7 years ago now. I saw her work and I was a bit taken by the emotion that provokes,” shares Rouy. This multi-sensory production blends Rouy’s painting, electronic music, dynamic lighting, and movement to challenge notions of control and chaos. Rouy discloses, “my second passion is music. I love making music.” Featuring dancers in custom-designed costumes by 16Arlington, BODYSUIT moves between precision and abandon, mirroring the emotional extremes at the core of Rouy’s work. Through both painting and performance, The Bleed, Part II asks how we navigate personal and collective existence—how we hold on, let go, and ultimately seek balance in an ever-shifting world.
The exhibition is on view at Hauser & Wirth until June 1st, 2025 The final performance in DTLA is today Saturday February 22nd, 2025 at 7:30 pm 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles
Mr. at Perrotin
Unframed: 76.3 x 56.7 cm, framed : 92.3x 72.7 cm ©2025 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights
Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin.
Mr.’s highly anticipated solo exhibition in Los Angeles at Perrotin marks a decade since his last
major West Coast show.
As a key figure in Takashi Murakami’s Superflat movement, Mr. blends anime-inspired aesthetics with deep personal and cultural narratives, exploring themes of escapism, social anxiety, and consumerism. The exhibition features new paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, alongside an immersive installation recreating the artist’s studio in Saitama, Japan. His chaotic, densely packed compositions evoke the overwhelming sensory experience of Japan’s megastores, where mass-produced treasures and neon excess blur the line between desire and disorientation. His characters exist within dense, disorderly environments that mirror the contradictions of contemporary Japanese life—where external perfection often masks personal turmoil. Beneath the playful imagery of wide-eyed, childlike figures lies a poignant reflection on trauma, loneliness, and the anxieties of contemporary life.
The exhibition at Perrotin is on view until March 29th, 2025 5036 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles His work can also be viewed at Frieze LA through Sunday, February 22nd, 2025 3027 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica
