Aya Kakeda was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and is based in Brooklyn, NY.  Her work is widely influenced by folk art and folktales, and reflects the current world from her personal perspective.  Similar to the cautionary tales found in folklore, She creates mystical characters and place them in seemingly utopian surroundings that show, with a closer look, a distorted reflection of our own world. Sculptures which were selected for the Delusional exhibition are part of the series she is currently working on which carries her primary themes of transformation and rebirth, powerful nature, and characters who are both good and evil. She is a faculty at School of visual Arts and Fashion Institute of Technology.