Chandlery Workshop with Kelly Akashi

On the occasion of her first institutional solo exhibition, Kelly Akashi will lead two introductory candle making workshops at SculptureCenter. Participants will leave with handmade candles of their own design.

In medieval households, the chandlery was the place where wax candles were made and stored. The term can also refer to a candle shop and the wares inside. Candle making has long been an important part of Akashi's artistic practice. Her works often include colorful and twisted handmade candles that burn and melt, producing floes of wax that harden in place over time.

In her exhibition at SculptureCenter, currently on view, Akashi explores connections between air and fire -- two elements central to her work across glass, bronze, photography, and film -- by periodically lighting wax candles within the space. Energetic and alchemical transformations of material are central to Akashi's work: the objects comprising her sculptures are physical manifestations of the intangibility of a breath of air or a burst of flame.

In-kind support for this workshop is provided by Astron Candle Manufacturing Co.