Leiko Ikemura's 'Motherscape' at Albertina Blends Sculpture, Painting, and Film, Lisson Gallery Reports
The Facts
On June 4, 2026, Lisson Gallery highlighted Leiko Ikemura's exhibition "Motherscape" at the Albertina in Vienna, featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture, and an animated film. The exhibition explores "motherness" as a nonbinary metaphor for artistic creation, with scenography by the artist's architect husband, Philipp von Matt. Works include polished bronze and glazed terra-cotta hybrid creatures, such as the rabbit-eared bronze sculpture "Usagi Kannon Janus (340)" standing eleven feet tall, created after the Fukushima disaster. The show also includes the painted film "Carpe Diem" (2025) and references to Albrecht Dürer's "Young Hare" via Ikemura's "Gelber Hase" (1994).
The Signal
The exhibition marks a significant institutional showcase for Ikemura at the Albertina, a major Vienna museum, and signals her expanding practice across media and scale. The collaboration with her husband on the scenography underscores the personal and interdisciplinary nature of the project, while the inclusion of text, sculpture, and film positions her work within contemporary dialogues on motherhood, hybridity, and post-disaster resilience. Collectors and curators should note Ikemura's ability to move fluidly between traditional and new media, enhancing her market relevance in both sculpture and painting.
- Artists: Leiko Ikemura
- People: Philipp von Matt, Lillian Davies
- Galleries: Lisson Gallery
- Museums: Albertina
- Locations: Vienna
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