THE BEST OF LOS ANGELES IN 2023 - ARTS & CULTURE

Chris Burden - "Urban Light" (2008) at LACMA

Photo: Discover Los Angeles

The culmination of the Hammer Museum's two-decade transformation; the first-ever Keith Haring museum retrospective in LA; and the debut of Frieze LA's new location are just a few of this year's arts & culture highlights.

"KEHINDE WILEY: COLORFUL REALM" - ROBERTS PROJECTS 

(JAN. 21 - APRIL 1)
Roberts Projects is moving from Culver City to a historic 1948 building on La Brea in Mid-Wilshire. Three times the size of the gallery's current space, the new 10,000 square-foot venue will feature four exhibition spaces, a bookshop, and a permanent site-specific space conceived by the trailblazing artist Betye Saar. The inaugural exhibition, Kehinde Wiley: Colorful Realm, marks the acclaimed artist's sixth show with the gallery.

MUSEUMS FREE-FOR-ALL 

SoCal Museums presents the annual Museums Free-for-All on Sunday, February 5. More than 40 museums—spanning art, cultural heritage, natural history, and science—will open their doors and invite visitors to attend free of charge. Museums Free-for-All is a great reminder that free visitor days are available year-round at museums across Los Angeles. Read the Discover LA guides to free museums and free museum days.

ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES 

 Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca"
Photo: TCM

In February, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will reopen its Significant Movies and Moviemakers gallery with a four-gallery experience that will showcase the all-time classic Casablanca (1942), the groundbreaking Boyz N the Hood (1991), the collaboration between production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer; and documentarian Lourdes Portillo.

Opening in the late spring, the museum's first permanent exhibition, Hollywoodland, will trace the history of filmmaking in Los Angeles back to its roots at the beginning of the 20th century, illustrating how and why the city became the world capital of cinema that it still is today.

FRIEZE LA 

Debuting (FEB. 16-19) in its new location at Santa Monica Airport, Frieze Los Angeles 2023 will feature more than 120 galleries from 22 countries around the world. The fair will happen over multiple sites across the airfield and will once again be designed by Kulapat Yantrasast’s WHY studio. With its expanded footprint, Frieze LA will be able to curate a wider selection of galleries and collaborations with non-profit organizations, as well as a series of new activations, and pop-ups from some of the city's most beloved restaurants.

FELIX ART FAIR - HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT 

Founded by collector Dean Valentine and dealers Al and Mills Morán, Felix Art Fair will once again take place at the landmark Hollywood Roosevelt. Now in its fourth year, Felix was previously held by the famed David Hockney pool and satellite "Tower Galleries" on the hotel's 11th and 12th floors. The 2023 edition will feature 60 exhibitors, from local to international galleries. (FEB. 15-19)

 

HAMMER MUSEUM 

Lynda and Stewart Resnick Cultural Center at the Hammer
Museum Rendering: Michael Maltzan Architecture

The two-decades-long transformation of the Hammer Museum will culminate on Sunday, March 26. Anchoring the project, the new Lynda and Stewart Resnick Cultural Center welcomes museum visitors with a street-level entrance located at the corner of Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards. The center honors co-owners of The Wonderful Company, global philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, and their longstanding commitment and impact on arts and culture in Los Angeles and across California.

The highlight of the Hammer's 2023 slate of exhibitions is an unprecedented display of works from its contemporary art collection that will fill nearly all of the museum’s galleries. The new lobby will debut with a dramatic installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, while the new street-level gallery will feature Rita McBride’s Particulates, part of the Hammer’s permanent collection. Previously installed in New York’s Rockefeller Center, Sanford Biggers’s 25-foot-tall cast bronze sculpture Oracle will occupy the new sculpture terrace. A retrospective of drawings by British artist Bridget Riley will open on February 5.

"KEITH HARING: ART IS FOR EVERYBODY" - THE BROAD 

 Photo: Keith Haring, "Untitled," 1982. Baked enamel on metal. 

The Broad Art Foundation. © Keith Haring Foundation

Opening at The Broad in May, Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody is the first-ever LA museum exhibition of the late artist's work, renowned for its vibrant color, energetic linework, and iconic characters like the barking dog and the radiant baby.

Spanning ten galleries, the exhibition presents 120 artworks in a wide range of mediums from the late '70s to 1988, just two years before Haring died from AIDS-related illness at the age of 31. Haring’s participation in the nuclear disarmament and anti-Apartheid movements, and his activism within the HIV/AIDS crisis, are featured prominently.

Immersive elements include a blacklight gallery soundtracked by playlists created by the artist himself. Additionally, the Shop at The Broad will be transformed into Haring’s artistic retail space The Pop Shop, which first opened in 1986 in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. (MAY 27 - OCT. 8)

*Source: Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
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