Datebook: Concrete poetry, rugged minimalism, the photographed bits of Alaska and New York
Words in space. A pioneer of raw minimalism. The photographed corners of New York. Here are seven exhibitions and events to check out in Los Angeles and beyond in the coming week:
“Concrete Poetry: Words and Sounds in Graphic Space,” at the Getty Research Institute. This is an exhibition where words are about words, but also form. Starting in the mid 1950s, the movement known as concrete poetry sought to explore the space between poetry and visual art, creating works that were visual (words in shapes and 3-D form) but also played with the sound and cadence of language. This show features more than 100 works from the lead poets of the era, including Scotsman Ian Hamilton Finlay, the Brazilian Augusto de Campos and U.S. poets Mary Ellen Solt and Emmett Williams, among others. Through July 30. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.
“The Not So Silver Screen: Black Women in Media,” at the Hammer Museum. There could not be a more poignant political moment for a panel that explores the image of black women in media, and the Hammer delivers. This special event brings together scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw with a panel that includes actresses Diahann Carroll, Tonya Pinkins and LisaGay Hamilton, as well as casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd,” editor April Reign and media studies professor Kristen Warner. Thursday at 7:30 p.m. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.
Carl Andre, “Sculpture as Place: 1958-2010,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art. This retrospective, which was first shown at Dia:Beacon in 2014, surveys the work of a sculptor known for creating minimalist installations out of raw building materials such as bricks, metal squares and wood blocks. The retrospective brings together pieces from throughout the artist’s five-decade career, including sculpture, photography, ephemera and his rare “Dada Forgeries,” a series of ready-made pieces that he has produced sporadically over the course of his life. Also opening at
Mark Feldstein, “NYC, circa 1970,” at Louis Stern Fine Arts. Feldstein was an artist and professor who was key to establishing the photography program at Hunter College in New York City in the ’70s. As an artist, he was known for hitting the streets of the Bowery, camera in tow, capturing people and the myriad details of architecture in artful ways. Opens Thursday and runs through May 13. 9002 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, louissternfinearts.com.
Corey Arnold, “Aleutian Dreams,” at Richard Heller Gallery. For many years, Arnold worked on a commercial fishing boat out of the remote community of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, catching codfish and crab. He took his camera and captured cinematic images of his exhausted co-workers, tempestuous seas and animal life at its wildest. Opens Saturday at 3 p.m. and runs through May 5. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., #B-5A, Santa Monica, richardhellergallery.com.
“Birds of America: Explorations of Audubon — The Paintings of Larry Rivers and Others,” at 101/Exhibit. The gallery, which represents the Larry Rivers Foundation, has organized a show around the paintings of birds executed by the artist — paintings inspired by illustrator John James Audubon’s seminal 19th century book, “Birds of America.” In conjunction with a number of these works, the gallery is also showing pieces by numerous other contemporary artists that dialogue with art in this way. Opens Saturday and runs through May 13. 668 N. La Peer Drive, West Hollywood, 101exhibit.com.
“Los Four meets Los 40,” at La Bodega Gallery. The 1970s art collective Los Four, which included painters Frank Romero, Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert “Magu” Lujan, and Beto de la Rocha, broke barriers in its time for being the first group of Chicano artists to have an exhibition at the
Last chance
Rachel Lacowicz, “Lay Back and Enjoy It,” at Shoshana Wayne Gallery. The Los Angeles-based artist has created a large-scale installation modeled after structures from Clint Eastwood’s 1973 western “High Plains Drifter” — two of which she has covered in red lipstick. It’s a look at the ways in which male power imbues our society’s governing institutions — not to mention the architecture that represents them. Through Saturday. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., B1, Santa Monica, shoshanawayne.com.
“Hexon/Hexoff,” at Noysky Projects. A group exhibition has magic — and the elements of ritual, iconography and faith that accompany it — as its unifying theme. The show includes a film set in a mythical Haiti by Ilona Berger and Jamson Silgnena, animated gif pieces by Theo Eliezer and the sculptural, bewitched-looking hair masks created by the artist Ciriza. Through Saturday. 6727 7/8 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, noyskyprojects.com.
Jennifer Dalton, “Participation Trophy,” at Charlie James Gallery. A new exhibition by the New York-based artist gathers video, sculpture and drawings that are inspired by the act of overcoming a fear — all brought together by a title that nods to the idea of the unearned accolade. In some of the works, she addresses her own fears — including public speaking and learning how to do a backflip — while in others, she presents her own design for odd unbalanced trophies, inspired by the “Successories” office tchotchkes. Through Saturday. 969 Chung
Frank Uwe Laysiepen, “Ulay the Animist,” at the Depart Foundation. It’s the first West Coast presentation of the performance artist known as Ulay — former collaborator of Marina Abramovic. The show includes works from his early Polaroid works from the ’70s to his large-scale experimental photographic projects from the 1990s, as well as documentation of his various performances. The exhibition’s title refers to the artist’s 1995 film, “The Animist,” which incorporated ritual and other elements, to determine the boundaries of reality. Through Saturday. 9105 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, departfoundation.com.
“For Your Information We The People Are All Immigrants,” at Gavlak Gallery. A group show brings together works by women, feminists and artists that identify as LGBTQ in an effort to promote human rights and issues of equality. This includes work by Lisa Anne Auerbach, Betty Tompkins, Marnie Weber, Judie Bamber and others. Through Saturday. 1034 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, gavlakgallery.com.
“Escape Attempts: Curated by Kathy Battista,” at Shulamit Nazarian. The gallery is debuting its new Hollywood location with a group show that features artists who are tangling with the legacy of minimalism. This includes figures such as Carmen Argote, Virginia Overton, and Naama Tsabar engaging the clean lines and formal qualities of minimalism, but grounding it in the cultural references of our era. Through Saturday. 616 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, shulamitnazarian.com.
“Environmental Communications: Contact High,” at LAXArt. In the 1960s, a group of architects, photographers and psychologists began to create extensive slide libraries that they sold to academic and cultural institutions as a way of infiltrating student consciousness. These often contained hundreds of images that recorded the design and other forces that shape the vernacular of the city, from gas stations to fast-food outlets to the facades of commercial buildings. The show captures the group’s process through images, videotapes and other ephemera. Through Saturday. 7000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, laxart.org.
“L.A. Exuberance: New Gifts by Artists,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This exhibition brings together more than 60 works of art donated by artists to the museum, including pieces by photographer Catherine Opie, light and space master Larry Bell, multimedia artist Analia Saban, photographer James Welling and conceptualist Mario Ybarra Jr. There is some great work in this show. Do not miss! Through Sunday. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.
“Between Words and Silence: The Work of Translation,” at the Armory Center for the Arts. A group exhibition — featuring the works of artists such as Gala Porras-Kim, Sid M. Dueñas and Naotaka Hiro — explores the ideas of communication and understanding. This includes works that reference Zapotec whistle codes, the transactions between Chinese and Mexican businessmen and the parallel realities occupied by Brazilian and American children. Through Sunday. 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, armoryarts.org.
“Forms of Identity: Women Artists in the ’90s,” at the Orange County Museum of Art. A show drawn entirely from OCMA’s permanent collection focuses on works by 16 women whose art in the 1990s underwent a transformation, from overtly political to something more poetic and personal. This includes works by photographer Laura Aguilar, sculptor Jacci Den Hartog, light and space artist Helen Pashgian and installationist Polly Apfelbaum, among others. Through Sunday. 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, ocma.net.
April Bey, “Comply,” at Coagula Curatorial. An installation of art, paintings and multimedia works explore the demands of womanhood — in particular that of black women. Among the objects on view is a series of portraits produced by the artist that features celebrities as well as everyday women she met during a residency in Ghana. Through Sunday. 974 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, coagulacuratorial.com.
Ongoing Exhibitions
“MONTARlaBestia,” at the Fisher Museum of Art. This intriguing show brings together artists, activists, an arts nonprofit, a group of underserved L.A. students and the Fisher Museum for a unique collaboration that responds to the phenomenon of “La Bestia,” the train that carries millions of Central American immigrants on the route north to the United States. Artist Demián Flores, along with journalist and activist Mardonio Carballo and curator Marco Barrera Bassols teamed up with students from the nonprofit Art Division for the show — during which time the students got to explore the Fisher’s permanent collection and attend special workshops. Betto Arcos has a good story on KPCC. Through April 8. 823 W. Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park, Los Angeles, fisher.usc.edu.
Lisa Adams, “Petrichor,” at CB1 Gallery. The L.A. artist has a new show of small paintings inspired by petrichor, the smell of dry earth as it is pelted with rain. The works — all diminutive in scale, and integrating elements of the urban and the abstract — were begun during California’s period of drought and completed after the season’s first rains. Through April 9. 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, cb1gallery.com.
Nancy Baker Cahill, “Manifestos,” at Ochi Projects. A new series of small drawings by the Los Angeles-based artist shows puzzling objects in motion. Are they body parts? Are they organ-like appendages? Are they bits of organic matter? Whatever they are, they are mysterious and intriguing. Through April 9. 3301 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, ochiprojects.com.
“The Birth of Motion Pictures: An Illustrated History of Silent Cinema, 1910–1929,” at the City of Brea Art Gallery. This exhibition is devoted to silent film — specifically, 60 original silent movie posters and a very rare “Silent Oscar” (one of only 15 ever awarded) from the private collection of Dwight Manley. Included in the show will be original posters for the Charlie Chaplin films “A Dog’s Life” (1918) and “The Kid” (1921), as well as a Spanish-language poster from the lost mystery flick “London After Midnight” (1927), which starred Lon Chaney as a vampiric inspector. Through April 14. One Civic Center Circle, Brea, breagallery.com.
“What I Loved: Selected Works From the ‘90s,” at Regen Projects. An economic recession. A war in the Middle East. And the L.A. Riots. The 1990s were a formative period for artists addressing issues of race, sexuality, gender, identity, the AIDS epidemic and globalization. This group exhibition — inspired by the title of Siri Hustvedt’s 2003 novel, “What I Loved” — brings together works by figures such as Matthew Barney, Glenn Ligon, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Catherine Opie, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and others in ways that capture the zeitgeist of that tumultuous, transformative period. Through April 14. 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, regenprojects.com.
Joshua Abarbanel, “It’s Only Natural,” at TAJ Art. A series of wall-mounted wood sculptures employ organic forms to create bright patterns — some inspired by the artist’s recent trip to the Seed Bank in Svalbard in the Arctic Circle. Through April 14. 1492 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, tajartinc.com.
Arne Quinze, “Jungle Cities,” at Denk Gallery. This is the debut show for the new Los Angeles gallery, which has kicked off its program with an exhibition by the Belgian sculptor known for his wild architectural installations. Quinze has created a new series of metal sculptures and wall hangings that play with the idea of disappearing nature. This includes a standing sculpture that evokes a wild creature and a work that resembles a log — full of growths and other bits of wild nature — but is actually a piece of cast bronze. Through April 15. 749 E. Temple St., downtown Los Angeles, denkgallery.com.
“John McLaughlin Paintings: Total Abstraction,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. One of the most important artists of SoCal’s postwar period, McLaughlin is known for quiet, minimalist works that explore total abstraction: geometries and lines that explore ideas of shape and space, but not representation. This exhibition gathers 52 paintings and a selection of collages and drawings — representing the first major museum retrospective of the artist’s work. Times critic
“Breaking News: Turning the Lens on Mass Media,” at the Getty Center. An exhibition that couldn’t be timelier: Curator Arpad Kovcs has put together a show that looks at the ways in which artists have turned bucolic magazine images and fragments of news programming into sharp political statements against events such as the Vietnam War and the so-called war on terror. The show features work by Martha Rosler, Alfredo Jaar, Catherine Opie and Robert Heinecken. Through April 20. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.
EJ Hill, “The Necessary Reconditioning of the Highly Deserving,” at Commonwealth & Council. A new series of sculptures and paintings represent the black body in places of elevation — an attempt to tell a story of blackness “with light and affirmation.” Also on view will be exhibitions by Neha Choksi and Kang Seung Lee. Through April 29. 306 W. 7th St., downtown Los Angeles, commonwealthandcouncil.com.
Joan-Ole Schiemann, “Can You Show Me the Way to Paradise Road?” at Mier. The Germany-based artist uses the aesthetics of cartoon animations to explore his movements around Los Angeles — albeit in abstraction. The works aren’t about creating a neatly structured grid or some other sort of literal visual map but, rather, laying out elements of the environment as they shift over the course of the city’s landscape: noises, odors, structures, and other elements, all rendered as surreal forms. Through April 29. 1107 Greenacre Ave., West Hollywood, miergallery.com.
Jake Kean Mayman, “The Earth Dies Screaming,” at Night Gallery. The Los Angeles painter, whose slightly dystopic color palette of acid-sherbet shades are often employed in pieces that take on aspects of landscape and the figure, as well as the nature of painting itself, has a show of new works that take on issues of fear in the American psyche and the ways in which information is manipulated and distorted. The title of the show? That was inspired by a 1964 sci-fi horror film about apocalypse. Timely. Through April 29. 227 E. 16th St., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, nightgallery.ca.
“Desert X,” in locations around the Coachella Valley. This biennial crash features a variety of installations and land art pieces installed along the length of the Coachella Valley. (Expect some driving … or Lyfting or cycling.) On the rundown is a high-profile assortment of SoCal and international figures, including Doug Aitken, Tavares Strachan, Gabriel Kuri, Richard Prince, Lita Albuquerque and Claudia Comte — creating site-specific pieces that take advantage of their scenic desert environs. Through April 30. The exhibition is free and takes place in locations around the Coachella Valley, desertx.org.
Gronk and Luis Roberto Vasquez Borja, “Home/Escape,” at FM Fine Art Gallery. This show explores the artistic relationship between artist and mentor. Borja once served as an assistant to the L.A. painter and muralist Gronk (born Glugio Nicandro), and he is now establishing himself in his own right. This collaborative exhibition pairs their works together. Through April 30. 834 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, fmfineartgallery.com.
Mary Weatherford, “like the land loves the sea,” at David Kordanksy Gallery. The Los Angeles painter creates hypnotic abstract canvases that she often punctuates with slashes of curved and crooked neon that operate as a brilliant surface brush stroke. A stop-you-in-your-tracks exhibition that is also deeply atmospheric. Through May 6. 5130 Edgewood Place, Los Angeles, davidkordanskygallery.com.
Jimmie Durham, “At the Center of the World,” at the Hammer Museum. For the last 20 years, Durham, who was born in Arkansas, and who came of age as an artist in New York’s downtown scene in the 1980s, has chosen to show primarily outside the United States. (He is of Cherokee descent.) This makes his first North American retrospective all the more special. Gathering his works from the 1970s to the present, the show features wry assemblages and wall sculptures that combine natural and discarded elements, riffing on classical architecture, the nature of portraiture and colonization. While you’re there, don’t miss the exhibition featuring drawings by French artist Jean Dubuffet, a figure who turned the graffiti-like gesture into high art. Through May 7. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.
“Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time,” at the L.A. County Museum of Art. This exhibition compares the artistic trajectories of two of the 20th century’s most towering Modernists: Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera. This covers the period from the 1920s to the ’50s as they explored Cubism, classical forms and ancient cultures in innovative ways. The shows features 150 paintings, etchings and watercolors. Through May 7. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.
Joe Goode, “Old Ideas With New Solutions,” at Kohn Gallery. The California painter, whose work explores nature, urban landscape and the nature of color in often abstract ways, has new pieces now on view at Kohn, including work from various ongoing series. This includes new “Milk Bottle” paintings, which explore representation and abstraction using the humble milk bottle as starting point, “Ocean Blue,” with their plays on color and the boundlessness of nature, “California Summer,” employing a sunburned California palette, and “TV Blues,” which takes abstractions inspired by nature and displays them in the rectangular shape of a television screen. Through May 13. 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, kohngallery.com.
“Masculine — Feminine,” at the Beall Center for Art + Technology. A group show that gathers the works of 12 artists, including Cassils, Micol Hebron, Julie Heffernan and Danial Nord, explores issues of gender and sexuality — sometimes playing with the malleability of these identifiers, at other times eliminating them completely. Through May 13. UC Irvine, 712 Arts Plaza, Irvine, beallcenter.uci.edu.
Jason Rhoades, “Installations, 1994-2006,” at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. The Los Angeles artist — known for sprawling, ribald installations made with everything from neon to cardboard to peas — often touched on issues of religion, sex and commerce in his work. This show, his first comprehensive survey in Los Angeles, brings together six of his most significant installations, including a tribute to sculptor Constantin Brancusi and a massive, sexually charged piece that features 240 neon words that describe female genitalia — a temple-like set-up where the viewer is invited to be wildly seduced. Through May 21. 901 E. Third St., downtown Los Angeles, hauserwirthschimmel.com.
Dreamland: A Frank Romero Retrospective, at the Museum of Latin American Art. The first museum retrospective of the storied Los Angeles painter brings together more than 200 works from throughout his career — pieces that frequently contend with various aspects of the urban experience, in particular that of L.A. The show covers all periods of his more than five-decade-long career, including his early works, pieces from his time with the collective Los Four in the 1970s and ’80s, his large-scale paintings and murals, as well as his more recent work in neon and ceramics. Through May 21. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, molaa.org.
“Aaron G. Green and California Organic Architecture,” at the Palos Verdes Art Center. Green was an architect inspired by the complex patterns and rugged textures found in nature, and this exhibition, curated by architectural historian Alan Hess, gathers rare photographs, along with original architectural renderings and other materials, to show a school of modernism that turned away from the glass box in favor of more organic forms. Through May 28. 5504 West Crestridge Road, Palos Verdes, aarongreen.org and pvartcenter.org.
“Women of Abstract Expressionism” at the Palm Springs Museum of Art. The Abstract Expressionist movement has been widely regarded as a boys club, one bursting with the macho antics of painters such as
“Non Fiction,” at the Underground Museum. An emotionally charged exhibition curated by the late Noah Davis in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles brings together works that explore issues of race and violence. This includes important works from MOCA’s permanent collection by artists such as Robert Gober, Kara Walker, Henry Taylor and David Hammons. Through May. 3508 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, theunderground-museum.org.
Shagha Ariannia, “Who Sings the Nation-State?” at the Vincent Price Art Museum. The artist, who was born in Tehran, looks at issues of citizenship, national identity and immigration through the lens of her own childhood in a video piece that also features related drawings and paintings. Through June 10. 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., East Los Angeles, vincentpriceartmuseum.org.
“Paperworks: Selections from the Permanent Collection, at the California African American Museum. Drawing from the museum’s collection of works on paper, which covers a period that dates two centuries — from 1800 to 2000, this group exhibition gathers collages, drawings, paintings and other works by important figures such as Romare Bearden, Betye Saar, John Biggers, Marion Sampler and Sam Francis. Through June 11. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.
“Power: Work by African American Women from the 19th Century to Now,” at Sprüth Magers. A survey exhibition organized by independent curator Todd Levin provides an overview of work by 37 African American women artists from over the last two centuries. The show, which is named for the 1970 gospel song by Sister Gertrude Morgan, runs the gamut of art-making traditions — including folk, painting, collage, assemblage and other forms — and touches on race, gender, class and the cultural and physical landscape. Through June 10. 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, spruethmagers.com.
“Moholy-Nagy: Future Present,” at the L.A. County Museum of Art. This sprawling exhibition examines the career of the influential Bauhaus artist and teacher, known for stripping art down to fundamentals of color and shape. Moholy-Nagy was a polymath who worked in painting, printmaking, photography and industrial design and the show gathers more than 250 works of his in all formats. Moreover, it will also feature his installation “Room of the Present,” a concept for an exhibition space that was never realized in his lifetime. Through June 18. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.
“In Focus: Jane and Louise Wilson’s Sealander,” at the Getty Museum. For roughly three decades, twin sisters Jane and Louise Wilson have created large-scale photographs inspired by important events in European history — in the process, capturing the nuclear site at Chernobyl and the former headquarters of the East German secret police. In this series, they turn their attention to the brutal concrete bunkers deposited by Adolf Hitler along the French coast during
Kerry James Marshall, “Mastry,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A 35-year retrospective, featuring nearly 80 works, examines the career of a painter who is known for depicting the black figure in ways that are mordant, lordly and defiant — as well as painterly in the most sublime ways. Born in Birmingham, Ala., but raised in L.A. during the civil rights and black power movements, Marshall paints historical events, the city (including bits of Los Angeles), domestic scenes and portraits in ways that counter the invisibility of the black figure in Western art. His people — rendered in the inkiest shades of black — command notice and authority. Consider this show a must-see. Through July 3. MOCA Grand Avenue, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.
“Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts,” at LACMA. A display of African art gathers objects that touch on important life transitions: initiation pieces, iconic masks and the reliquary guardians that guide people into the afterlife. The works on view, which include metalwork, sculpture and textiles, date from the 13th to 19th centuries, and cover various African regions, including Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Congo, among others. Through July 9. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.
Hammer Projects: Andrea Bowers, at the Hammer Museum. Bowers, an artist known for her activism, regularly broaches the subject in her work. This new installation was inspired by the artist’s involvement in the protests at Standing Rock — charting the connections between the international banking system and the construction of oil pipelines. She ties these to food and water issues at the Los Angeles level. Through July 16. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.
“Chinese Ceramics from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” at the Vincent Price Art Museum.” Part of a new series of partnerships that will take LACMA works to other organizations around L.A., this show represents an overview of Chinese ceramics from the museum’s permanent collection that take the viewer from c. 2500 BC to the 19th century — as well as the museum’s own long history as a collector of Chinese ceramics. Through July 22. East Los Angeles College, 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org and lacma.org.
“Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066,” at the Japanese American National Museum. At a time when executive orders are transforming U.S. society, it’s a good moment in which to study one of the most notorious ones: President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Order 9066, which allowed for the incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans living along the West Coast during World War II. This exhibition brings together historical ephemera from this dark period in U.S. history, as well as works of art and performance that reflect on the issue of internment. Beginning on March 24, the museum will present “Moving Day,” a nightly public art piece in which exclusion orders will be projected on the side of the building at night. Through Aug. 13. 100 N. Central Ave., downtown Los Angeles, janm.org.
“No Justice, No Peace: LA 1992,” at the California African American Museum. A historical exhibition looks at the myriad social and political forces that led to the 1992 riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict — including a troubled history of police relations in minority communities, a history of housing segregation and the drug war, among other factors. Included in the show are hundreds of images and historic documents, as well as a zoot suit and a ’90s era police cruiser. Through Aug. 27. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.
“Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959-1971,” at the L.A. County Museum of Art. Previously on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., this exhibition tracks the legacy of one of the most important postwar galleries in the United States — a space that, for a time, operated in Los Angeles. Its proprietor, Virginia Dwan wasn’t simply a run-of-the-mill gallerist, she was a patron, supporting artists with stipends and studios. She staged one of the earliest pop art exhibitions and she was an important supporter of minimalism. Plus, she was key in helping artists execute the most outrageous works — including important land art pieces such as Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty.” Talk about thinking big. Through Sept. 10. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, www.lacma.org.
“Islamic Art Now: Part 2” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Contemporary works from LACMA’s permanent collection by 20 artists who live in or have roots in the Middle East look at questions of society, gender and identity. Runs indefinitely. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.
“Becoming America: Highlights from the Jonathan and Karin Fielding Collection,” at the Huntington Library. The Huntington has just redone its American art galleries and now features a new expansion by architects at Frederick Fisher and Partners that adds eight rooms for display. Up first is an exhibition devoted to the Fielding Collection, featuring more than 200 works of 18th and early 19th century American art, including paintings, furnishings and decorative art. Runs indefinitely. 151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, huntington.org.
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