In the Studio with Leiko Ikemura

19 May 2025

Filmed at her home and studio in Berlin, Germany – designed by her partner, the architect Philipp von Matt – the artist Leiko Ikemura discusses her life and work in advance of her debut exhibition, Talk to the sky, seeking light, at Lisson Gallery New York in 2025.

Lisson is pleased to host Leiko Ikemura’s first exhibition with the gallery, featuring many of the themes present in her work over the past 30 years, including a wide range of media from paintings in tempera to bronze figures and glass forms. The installation revolves around a central, three-and-a-half metre rabbit/woman figure, known as Usagi Janus (2024). This hand-sculpted and hand-patinated, protective spirit – part-bunny, part-bodhisattva of compassion – provides respite from the outside world in her conical-shaped bodily enclosure, the tiny punctures in her mothering skirt creating an internal universe of projected stars.

'Leiko Ikemura: Talk to the sky, seeking light' is on view through 1 August 2025.

Film by Laura Bushell.