Luna Ikuta / Distilled Essence / Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens

Luna Ikuta Distilled Essence Sturt Haaga Gallery, Descanso Gardens October 28, 2023 - January 28, 2023 Luna Ikuta is a conceptual artist and designer whose work draws from biology, craftsmanship, and material research. Distilled Essence, her debut exhibit with the Sturt Haaga Gallery, showcases transparent botanicals that are preserved within antique decanters and custom blown-glass vessels, setting a surreal, laboratory-like ambiance. Operating within multidisciplinary fields, her diverse portfolio emerges from alchemical processes, experimenting with both organic and industrial mediums. This includes underwater transparent botanical landscapes, laser-etched crystal monuments, immersive digital projections, and conceptual blockchain projects. Ikuta’s works dive into the conditioning of our senses through material experimentation, and her installations address intangible themes, such as memory, identity, and evolution. Born in Tokyo and currently based in Los Angeles, she earned her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her sculptural works have been commissioned for permanent art installations and on multiple occasions Ikuta has presented site specific projects at institutions, transforming spaces into ethereal environments of ghostly underwater landscapes. Selected projects include Eternal Garlands, City of Culver City,12 Months of Afterlife, Vogue Singapore; Remember Me, and institutions include Times Art Museum, Beijing, Chengdu (2023), CAFA Museum, Beijing (2023) Dynamic Art Museum, Milan, Shenzhen (2022), Art Basel Miami (2021)(2022). Video by L.A. Art Documents / ________________________________________________________