After the Eaton Fire took Akashi's Altadena house and studio in January 2025, the chimney was the only thing left upright, and she worked with a mason to rebuild it in luminous glass on the Whitney's terrace. Nearby, Inheritance (Distressed) cuts the pattern of her grandmother's doily, lost in the same fire, into Cor-Ten steel. It is the most affecting single work in the Biennial and it closes this month.
What to expect
An open-air fifth-floor terrace installation you walk out onto directly from the Biennial galleries, plus a steel relief, works on paper and an animation on the outdoor screen. The glass brick reads completely differently in direct sun than under cloud.
Good to know
- It is outdoors on the fifth-floor terrace, so it is fully exposed to the weather
- Access is through the Biennial galleries, so it needs a museum ticket
- Direct sunlight through the glass brick is the whole point; overcast visits look different
- Terrace space is tight, so it fills quickly when a tour group arrives
- The A, C, E and L to 14th Street get you closest
- Combine it with the Biennial floors rather than treating it as a separate trip
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Common questions
What is Monument (Altadena)?
A glass-brick rebuilding of the chimney that was the only structure left standing after the Eaton Fire destroyed Akashi's home and studio.
Is this part of the Whitney Biennial?
Yes. The Hyundai Terrace Commission is presented as part of Whitney Biennial 2026.
Is the terrace indoors?
No. It is the museum's fifth-floor outdoor gallery, so plan around the weather.
More this weekend
