With the sunny season passing us by the time to view LA’s best art is also fleeting. Here in the city of stars, our options for museum picks and art walk displays is plenty. But from season to season, the exhibits we grow to love make quick exits. That’s why we rounded up the best art shows and exhibits on display that depart this summer. Along with our recurring art joke that you should Van Gogh before they’re gone!
Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop
Location: Annenberg Space for Photography
Due to popular demand, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop – is extending its run through Sunday, August 25. Free and open to the public, the exhibit includes photos of hip-hop icons like Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z. This along with an interactive record shop, and a documentary on the history of this popular music genre.
Poolside: Immersive Experience
Location: Rhythm Visuals Gallery, DTLA
Poolside is a new immersive abstract painting show at Rhythm Visuals gallery in Downtown L.A. The exhibition features multiple rooms and visual experiences, including one where guests throw water balloons at a white wall to reveal a hidden painting. The exhibit is open Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. through September 5.
OPEN HOUSE: ELLIOTT HUNDLEY
Location: MOCA Grand Avenue
MOCA will begin this new exhibition series with Open House: Elliott Hundley. Multimedia artist Elliott Hundley will explore the architecture and origins of collage, exploring how the visual and material logic of this technique has informed artists in MOCA’s collection, as well as his own practice. Open House runs through September 5th.
Soul of a Nation
Location: The Broad
On view at The Broad from March 23 to Sept. 1 is Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983. The exhibit celebrates the work of Black artists made over two decades beginning in 1963, at the height of the civil rights movement. The exhibition showcases communities engaged in robust artistic dialogues. Artworks in the exhibition are both figurative and abstract, and range from collage, assemblage and photography to painting, sculpture and performance.
PLUMB LINE: CHARLES WHITE AND THE CONTEMPORARY
Location: California African American Museum
Charles White: prolific painter, printmaker, muralist, draftsman, and photographer whose career spanned more than half a century. White’s artistic portrayals of black subjects, life, and history were extensive and far-reaching. The Exhibit runs through August 25 and features contemporary artists whose work resonates with White’s profound and continuing influence.
The Riddle Effect & ON THE INSIDE
Location: Craft Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles
The RIDDLE Effect presents a survey of artist John Riddle’s (1933–2002) sculptural work. The exhibit also examines his influence as a foundational member of the Black Arts Movement in Los Angeles. Running through September 8, it highlights Riddle’s innovative art practice with several works exhibited for the first time in LA. Works by his students and colleagues will also be presented alongside Riddle’s to honor his expressive practice and impact on the LA arts community.
On the Inside is a group exhibition running through September 8, of LGBTQ+ artists who are currently incarcerated. The artworks are made from basic materials the prisoners have access to behind bars. Things like letter-sized paper, dull pencils, ballpoint pen ink tubes. There are also unlikely innovations such as an asthma inhaler filled with Kool-Aid to create an airbrushed painting.
Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich
Location: Skirball Cultural Center
Los Angeles fashion designer Rudi Gernreich introduced unisex clothing, pantsuits for women, and enough inventive clothing to earn him a worldwide reputation. His democratic and dynamic fashions continue to resonate today. On display until September 1, Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich explores the visionary and progressive fashion ensembles that trespassed rigid social expectations and liberated those who wore his clothing.
SARAH LUCAS: AU NATUREL
Location: Hammer Museum
Over the past 30 years, Sarah Lucas has created a distinctive and provocative body of work. Subverting traditional notions of gender, sexuality, and identity her exhibit runs until September 1. The first American survey of one of the UK’s most influential artists, Sarah Lucas: Au Naturel will have more than 150 works in photography, collage, sculpture, and installation.
The Huntington’s Centennial Celebration
Location: Huntington Garden, Pasadena
Opening this September, Nineteen Nineteen, is a major exhibition that draws from the library, art, and botanical collections. The exhibit will examine that historic year across the globe and the founding of The Huntington in the context of international events. Throughout the celebration year, The Huntington will present special programs. These programs will look at the collections in new ways and explore their potential impact into the future.