Their studios burned. Their art was destroyed. A new exhibit of more than 80 LA artists devastated by fire

Jeffrey Sugishita took a series of self-portraits in the ruins of the Altadena house where he had lived for four years. In the photograph, the young artist wears a helmet sculpture he made of cracked earth and flowers, originally inspired by the superbloom season of southern California. Photograph: Jeffrey Sugishita/courtesy of Aram Moshayedi/One Hundred Percent

When Jeffrey Sugishita visited the burned-down husk of the house where he had been living, flames were still smoldering inside. For about 30 minutes, Sugishita wandered the wreckage, looking at the empty space where his room had been.

“What’s burnt is burnt,” the 26-year-old artist said. “I told myself: ‘I’m going to make something new out of this.’”