Born in LA county and raised throughout its vast expanse, Ako Castuera’s work explores the theme of culture as it crosses physical and temporal boundaries- intangible practices and histories expressing themselves through everyday exchanges between people, place, plants, and animals. Of Okinawan and Mexican ancestry with a strong relationship to Southern California’s landscape, Ako’s work is rooted in a belief that home lies within dynamic cultural and ecological relationships. Her sculptural, hybrid forms suggest a world of fluid borders in which invisible connections to people, place, self and other are expressed in the material language of clay and fiber.

Ako’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries through the US, and she is also known for her work as a storyboard artist and writer on the animated television show, Adventure Time.