Featured Events in Los Angeles in April 2024 (May Updated)

explores the rise of Futurism in contemporary Indigenous art as a means of enduring colonial trauma, creating alternative futures, and advocating for Indigenous technologies in a more inclusive present and sustainable future. Over fifty artworks are on display, some interspersed throughout the museum, creating unexpected encounters and dialogues between contemporary Indigenous creations and historic Autry works. Artists such as Andy Everson, Ryan Singer, and Neil Ambrose Smith wittily upend pop-culture icons by Indigenizing sci-fi characters and storylines; Wendy Red Star places Indigenous people in surreal spacescapes wearing fantastical regalia; Virgil Ortiz brings his own space odyssey, to life in a new, site-specific installation. By intermingling science fiction, self-determination, and Indigenous technologies across a diverse array of Native cultures, envisions sovereign futures while countering historical myths and the ongoing impact of colonization, including environmental degradation and toxic stereotypes.

Egypt’s 26th Dynasty (664–526 BCE) was a period of revival and renewal. It marks the last great phase of native pharaonic rule in ancient Egypt and is notable for its exceptional artworks, particularly stone sculpture. The achievements of Egyptian artists of this period are vividly expressed in the sculpted portraits of officials associated with the court and priesthood, which were created to be displayed in tombs and temples. The works in this exhibition are on special loan from the British Museum, London.

Egypt’s 26th Dynasty (664–526 BCE) was a period of revival and renewal. It marks the last great phase of native pharaonic rule in ancient Egypt and is notable for its exceptional artworks, particularly stone sculpture. The achievements of Egyptian artists of this period are vividly expressed in the sculpted portraits of officials associated with the court and priesthood, which were created to be displayed in tombs and temples. The works in this exhibition are on special loan from the British Museum, London.

New from the Art Dealer's Room and Columnist series of Contemporary Art & Mix media design featured catalogue Secondary Art Market listings works & Galleries Artworks currently showing online catalogue www.Verisart.com/Andrepace

New from the Art Dealer's Room and Columnist series of Contemporary Art & Mix media design featured catalogue Secondary Art Market listings works & Galleries Artworks currently showing online catalogue www.Verisart.com/Andrepace

explores the rise of Futurism in contemporary Indigenous art as a means of enduring colonial trauma, creating alternative futures, and advocating for Indigenous technologies in a more inclusive present and sustainable future. Over fifty artworks are on display, some interspersed throughout the museum, creating unexpected encounters and dialogues between contemporary Indigenous creations and historic Autry works. Artists such as Andy Everson, Ryan Singer, and Neil Ambrose Smith wittily upend pop-culture icons by Indigenizing sci-fi characters and storylines; Wendy Red Star places Indigenous people in surreal spacescapes wearing fantastical regalia; Virgil Ortiz brings his own space odyssey, to life in a new, site-specific installation. By intermingling science fiction, self-determination, and Indigenous technologies across a diverse array of Native cultures, envisions sovereign futures while countering historical myths and the ongoing impact of colonization, including environmental degradation and toxic stereotypes.

A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach: Villeroy and Boch showcases everyday life in the 1800s Mettlach, Germany. Scenes of everyday life in Mettlach have been documented and celebrated by Villeroy and Boch, a ceramic production company founded in 1836 when Jean François Boch and Nicolas Villeroy merged their ceramic businesses into what is now known as Villeroy and Boch. The workers of the Mettlach factory came from diverse backgrounds, including art studios, archives, and museums. The varied backgrounds of the factory workers contributed to the artistic achievements of the Villeroy and Boch company. The Mettlach collection reflects German cultural experiences, societal interpretations, and mythology. This exhibition shows scenes of love and relationships as well as larger themes of fantasy, offering an all-encompassing snapshot of the myriad facets of human life within Mettlach. A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach, on view in the Robert and Colette Wilson Gallery through June 2025, presents concepts of life, laughter, relationships, and the day-to-day existence of the German people.

Nov. 11, 2023–Nov. 30, 2027 | Renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”—commissioned by The Huntington—is a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds.

Nov. 11, 2023–Nov. 30, 2027 | Renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”—commissioned by The Huntington—is a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds.

Egypt’s 26th Dynasty (664–526 BCE) was a period of revival and renewal. It marks the last great phase of native pharaonic rule in ancient Egypt and is notable for its exceptional artworks, particularly stone sculpture. The achievements of Egyptian artists of this period are vividly expressed in the sculpted portraits of officials associated with the court and priesthood, which were created to be displayed in tombs and temples. The works in this exhibition are on special loan from the British Museum, London.

New from the Art Dealer's Room and Columnist series of Contemporary Art & Mix media design featured catalogue Secondary Art Market listings works & Galleries Artworks currently showing online catalogue www.Verisart.com/Andrepace

explores the rise of Futurism in contemporary Indigenous art as a means of enduring colonial trauma, creating alternative futures, and advocating for Indigenous technologies in a more inclusive present and sustainable future. Over fifty artworks are on display, some interspersed throughout the museum, creating unexpected encounters and dialogues between contemporary Indigenous creations and historic Autry works. Artists such as Andy Everson, Ryan Singer, and Neil Ambrose Smith wittily upend pop-culture icons by Indigenizing sci-fi characters and storylines; Wendy Red Star places Indigenous people in surreal spacescapes wearing fantastical regalia; Virgil Ortiz brings his own space odyssey, to life in a new, site-specific installation. By intermingling science fiction, self-determination, and Indigenous technologies across a diverse array of Native cultures, envisions sovereign futures while countering historical myths and the ongoing impact of colonization, including environmental degradation and toxic stereotypes.

A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach: Villeroy and Boch showcases everyday life in the 1800s Mettlach, Germany. Scenes of everyday life in Mettlach have been documented and celebrated by Villeroy and Boch, a ceramic production company founded in 1836 when Jean François Boch and Nicolas Villeroy merged their ceramic businesses into what is now known as Villeroy and Boch. The workers of the Mettlach factory came from diverse backgrounds, including art studios, archives, and museums. The varied backgrounds of the factory workers contributed to the artistic achievements of the Villeroy and Boch company. The Mettlach collection reflects German cultural experiences, societal interpretations, and mythology. This exhibition shows scenes of love and relationships as well as larger themes of fantasy, offering an all-encompassing snapshot of the myriad facets of human life within Mettlach. A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach, on view in the Robert and Colette Wilson Gallery through June 2025, presents concepts of life, laughter, relationships, and the day-to-day existence of the German people.

A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach: Villeroy and Boch showcases everyday life in the 1800s Mettlach, Germany. Scenes of everyday life in Mettlach have been documented and celebrated by Villeroy and Boch, a ceramic production company founded in 1836 when Jean François Boch and Nicolas Villeroy merged their ceramic businesses into what is now known as Villeroy and Boch. The workers of the Mettlach factory came from diverse backgrounds, including art studios, archives, and museums. The varied backgrounds of the factory workers contributed to the artistic achievements of the Villeroy and Boch company. The Mettlach collection reflects German cultural experiences, societal interpretations, and mythology. This exhibition shows scenes of love and relationships as well as larger themes of fantasy, offering an all-encompassing snapshot of the myriad facets of human life within Mettlach. A Traveler’s Guide to Mettlach, on view in the Robert and Colette Wilson Gallery through June 2025, presents concepts of life, laughter, relationships, and the day-to-day existence of the German people.

Nov. 11, 2023–Nov. 30, 2027 | Renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”—commissioned by The Huntington—is a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds.

Nov. 11, 2023–Nov. 30, 2027 | Renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”—commissioned by The Huntington—is a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds.

Experience the excitement of the 2024 NFL Draft Watch Party at Bastards Canteen in Downey, California. Southern Cali Thunder Alley presents this free event on April 25, 2024. Join fellow NFL enthusiasts at 11045 Downey Avenue for a lively evening of football, delicious food, and camaraderie. Doors open at 4:00 PM, so be sure to arrive early to secure your spot for an unforgettable night of cheering on your favorite teams and players. Don't miss the opportunity to witness the thrill of the draft picks unfold in real-time, surrounded by a community of passionate fans. Come out to Bastards Canteen and immerse yourself in the electrifying atmosphere of the 2024 NFL Draft Watch Party.

This sprawling exhibit explores the profound impact and influence that hip-hop music and culture has had on the United States and the world since it burst forth in the Bronx 50 years ago. The Mixtape Exhibit delves deep into the sounds, scenes and history of hip-hop music, dance, graffiti, fashion, business, and activism. On view are rarely displayed artifacts from Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., MC Lyte, Lil Wayne, Slick Rick, Egyptian Lover, Eminem, and many others, and visitors can make their own hip-hop music with five unique interactives. The exhibit was curated by a team of four co-curators who bring a deep knowledge of hip-hop, academic rigor and creativity to the project: Felicia Angeja Viator, associate professor of history, San Francisco State University, author of To Live And Defy In LA: How Gangsta Rap Changed America, and one of the first women DJs in the Bay Area hip-hop scene; Adam Bradley, professor of English and founding director of the Laboratory for Race and Popular Culture (the RAP Lab) at UCLA, and co-editor of The Anthology of Rap; Jason King, dean, USC Thornton School of Music and former chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU; and Dan Charnas, associate arts professor, NYU Clive Davis Institute of Music, and author of Dilla Time: The Life And Afterlife Of The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm. The co-curators worked in conjunction with GRAMMY Museum Chief Curator and VP of Curatorial Affairs Jasen Emmons as well as a 20-member Advisory Board.

features Valdez’s oil painting on a 1953 Good Humor ice cream truck portraying the forced removal of a predominantly Mexican American community for the construction of Dodger Stadium in the late 1950s. In 2004, Cooder invited Valdez to collaborate and create a painting to align with his album “Chavez Ravine” (2005), a musical interpretation of the neighborhood’s history. Posing a visual contradiction between the eviction and the ice cream truck, Valdez depicts Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, former LAPD Chief William H. Parker, J. Edgar Hoover, and displaced families. Shown alongside Valdez’s preparatory materials, draws from the style and history of Mexican and American muralism and Chicano car culture. Recently acquired by LACMA, the work is a monument to a disturbing chapter in L.A. history and symbolizes struggles across the country about affordable housing, eminent domain, gentrification, and discrimination.

Pinto Gallery is an LA-based contemporary art gallery, showcasing the most impressive and innovative Japanese artists.

Pinto Gallery is an LA-based contemporary art gallery, showcasing the most impressive and innovative Japanese artists.

Pinto Gallery is an LA-based contemporary art gallery, showcasing the most impressive and innovative Japanese artists.

This February ‘DRIVE’ will open with The Parking Space, featuring a Chevrolet Caprice and Impala, a Ferrari 328 GTS and a Ligier microcar, parked in the gallery alongside a video in which Rhoades fervidly discourses on his concept of the Car Projects. While driving around Los Angeles in 1998, Rhoades explains the relationship of cars to his art (parking is equated with sitting in a sculpture) and to daily practice (driving between the house, the studio and stores is time and space for the mind to race and wander). He expounds on cars as icons of art history (Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia speeded modern art forward with their mechanized abstractions), identifiers of class (you are what you drive) and environments of control. The radio is tuned to Power 106 FM and as the world streams by to the propulsive hip-hop beat, the romance of cars seems irresistible. In April, the installation will be reconfigured to accommodate a lounge and become The Pit. An influx of archival materials will be key to unpacking the various episodes of Rhoades’ Car Projects, starting with the Caprice and the 1996 exhibition ‘Traffic.’ Not only did the artist cut a deal with CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France the organizers of the show, to go in on buying him the car as a transactional work of art, he later leveraged its symbolic value by trading the Caprice for a Ferrari. This summer the exhibition’s focus will swerve onto The Racetrack. A set of half-scale NASCAR-style cars, custom jackets and colorfully painted tire barriers are among what remains of ‘The Snowball.’ Staged in California as a daylong racing event at Willow Springs speedway, ‘The Snowball’ was ultimately destined for the 2000 Venice Biennale and Rhoades’ collaborative work for the Danish Pavilion. In September, The Garage will cover the final stretch of ‘DRIVE’ with a selection of framed works on paper and a major sculptural installation. Throughout the year, the line-up for ‘DRIVE’ will feature a range of public programs. A film series centered on cars and the city of Los Angeles will be curated by film historian and critic Elvis Mitchell. A theatrical staging of the playwright Charles Mee’s ‘Under Construction,’ which was inspired by Rhoades’ art in its collage depiction of America today, will be presented as part of Hauser & Wirth’s Performance Project. Organized as an investigation in real time, ‘DRIVE’ invites people to approach the exhibition like a garage of art and ideas, in which cars are coming and going and tinkering is a productive state of mind. As an artist, Rhoades was keenly attuned to sources of cultural power and weakness. When he put the internal combustion engine on art’s pedestal, was he presciently placing the car where it belongs for a greener tomorrow? The car as a subject in Rhoades’ art continues to drive and trouble the imagination today.

From 1984 to 1991, pioneering American artist Jasper Johns (b.1930) produced a significant body of work inspired by the theme of the four seasons, including a remarkable series of prints that are exhibited together in this display. The Seasons are complex and distinctive works, weaving together themes of artistic creation, the passage of time, and the artist’s own biography, with Johns’ shadow appearing prominently in each composition. Printmaking is one of Johns’ major preoccupations, and this display will reveal his application of an array of techniques to create a collaging of imagery that is both evocative and mysterious. The Courtauld was fortunate to be given the series of nine prints by Johns in 2016 by Barbara Bertozzi Castelli, the widow of John’s long-term dealer Leo Castelli, and is the only museum in the UK to have the series in its collection.

Since 2007, JANM has partnered with Eric Nakamura, founder of Giant Robot, to produce the Giant Robot Biennale, a recurring art exhibition that highlights diverse creative works celebrating the ethos of Giant Robot—a staple of Asian American alternative pop culture and an influential brand encompassing pop art, skateboard, comic book, graphic arts, and vinyl toy culture. Giant Robot Biennale 5 will feature artists Sean Chao, Felicia Chiao, Luke Chueh, Giorgiko, James Jean, Taylor Lee, Mike Shinoda, Rain Szeto, and Yoskay Yamamoto, among others.

In To Hold a Thing, Awad continues to explore the space between abstract and figurative painting. Each canvas begins with an expressive underpainting rendered in watercolor and vinyl paint. The artist then studies these improvisations: She makes charcoal-on-paper drawings in response to their marks, then seeks out the figures within the fields of lush color, coaxing each body out into the open with fluid gestural lines set against vivid chunks of oil paint. Awad manipulates paint with intuition and the focus of a seasoned alchemist. Through years of study and practice, she has come to control not only the way that colors respond to one another visually, but also how pigments interact on a molecular level. Painting wet into wet with different water soluble mediums prompts chemical reactions. While suspended in water, red repels white and yellow absorbs black. When these reactions settle, they become frozen in time like igneous rock formations on the surface of her canvases. These moments are then delicately embellished with layers upon layers of oil paint, and an even richer surface remains. The nude figures in Awad’s compositions do not depict any specific person or persons. Instead, they can be seen as ghosts from the rich history of Western painting. Echos of Gauguin, Picasso, DeKooning, Cassatt, and numerous other familiars vibrate within her electric colors. The nude, female form as subject exists as a through line in this history, and in these paintings it becomes a marker of “subject” to be sought out by the viewer, who is tasked with the puzzle of distinguishing the abstractions from the legs, breasts, faces, etc. These figures are pointedly not self portraits, but their ability to reflect on and exist within a tradition that is greater than any one individual is a comforting metaphor that unfolds on these canvases for both artist and viewer.

Dating from the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s, the three groupings of artworks in this exhibition demonstrate the recurring formal preoccupations with structure, movement, and perspective that define Diebenkorn’s endlessly powerful and mysterious oeuvre. These artworks also illuminate the approaches and motifs that captured the artist’s attention at particular points in his career, including the meaningful employment of color, the translation of landscape into two-dimensional terms, and a fascination with spade and club forms. Intimate in scale and medium, this exhibition communicates the poetic sensitivities inherent to Diebenkorn’s work and deepens our understanding of the artist’s distinct visual vocabulary. The earliest works in this presentation, dating from 1950 to 1955, are characterized by harmonized arrangements of blue and black ink, crayon, and charcoal, set against a white paper ground. Cups and patterns appear as quotidian markers within fields of abstraction, expressions of Diebenkorn’s known reverence for his immediate surroundings: In this rendering of everyday objects a reversal occurs, grounding the lyricism of free-flowing shapes in reality and signaling that these images are drawn from life. The use of just one color, a ‘Diebenkorn blue,’ underscores the philosophical weight the artist perceived in humble observations and the spiritual satisfaction he found in the distilled hues of the sky and ocean. Diebenkorn’s gouache paintings and etchings from the 1970s similarly engage with the beauty and truth to be found in simplicity as dynamic achromic lines prudently dissect each picture plane. Expanding on the legacy of Mondrian, a significant influence, Diebenkorn’s works diagram land- and cityscapes through transcendent geometric delineations, a feature which also defines the epic cycle of paintings and drawings. Aerial photographs taken by the artist verify that these compositions are akin to maps, distinguishing Diebenkorn from other Modernists as a figure who created across the continuum of abstraction and representation. The spade and club are significant motifs which captivated Diebenkorn’s attention and appear in full force in the mixed media works from the 1980s. Prior artworks, like those of the 1950s, anticipate this fascination through bulbous curves and other sensuous forms. It was primarily, however, from 1980 to 1982 that the artist devoted himself to these symbols, first encountered as a child, as if to process a lingering subconscious fixation. The personal significance of these shapes to the artist is unknown and secondary to their iconic value, dubbed ‘heraldic imagery’ by contemporary critics. These works stand out not only for their mysterious symbolic allusions, but also through a clear figure-ground relationship that suggests an association with the human figure. Even in a presentation across three time periods of the artist’s oeuvre, this collection of artworks illustrates the distinct and ranging poetry of Diebenkorn’s creative inquiries. Indeed, a trajectory of thought is detectable between the inky dividing lines of the earliest works and the thoughtfully segmented compositions from the 1970s, and the curvature of the symbolic spade appears more evident with each consideration. What is offered by these works on paper are the revelations of an extraordinary mind, one which saw composition in all things. — Richard Diebenkorn Born over 100 years ago, Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993) produced a body of work whose beauty and mysteriously empathic nature has long attracted many devotees worldwide. He lived during the period of America’s great surge onto the world stage of visual art, working alongside the likes of Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, and Joan Mitchell, but forging a decisively independent style. While still in his twenties he moved briefly to New York from his San Francisco region, realizing that its artistic climate was the most stimulating locus in the United States, but soon returned to California where, aside from two important early years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a year teaching in Urbana, Illinois, he remained. From a glorious early flowering in the language of Abstract Expressionism, where he responded directly to the light and landscapes of New Mexico and the urban Midwest, Diebenkorn turned to a prolonged period of making figurative and landscape art, going very much against the grain of his generation. A leader in Bay Area figurative painting, Diebenkorn produced work that was received with enormous affection and excitement by a wide audience. Then, quite abruptly in 1966, he turned to a new form of abstraction, again decisively different from his peers. Moving from Berkeley to Los Angeles, he proceeded to make the monumental abstract works known as the “Ocean Park” series, incorporating the lessons of two of his key influences, Henri Matisse and Piet Mondrian. — Jane Livingston

The Los Angeles Traditional Bachata Festival is a highly anticipated event taking place from March 29 to March 31, 2024, during Easter weekend. This 3-day dance festival, held at the prestigious Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport in Burbank, promises an unforgettable experience for bachata enthusiasts. The festival will feature a wide range of exciting activities such as workshops, night parties, pool parties, dance showcases, and dance competitions. Attendees can look forward to immersing themselves in the vibrant bachata culture and learning from renowned artists including Alex Morel, Desiree Godsell, Fausto Felix, Eddie Peligro, and many more. The festival offers different passes, including the Full Pass, VIP Pass, and 3 Day Party Pass, each providing access to various events and amenities. With its convenient location and group rates available at the Marriott Burbank Hotel, attendees are encouraged to book their rooms early to secure their spot at this highly popular festival. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to indulge in the passion and artistry of traditional bachata dancing. For more information and updates, visit the official website of the Los Angeles Traditional Bachata Festival.

Seguimos features installation, video, photography, painting, works on paper and sculpture by an intergenerational group of thirteen Costa Rican artists, the majority of whom are highly regarded in Central America, but have never exhibited in the United States. The artists in this exhibition reflect a spectrum of interests and concerns facing Costa Ricans today, five of the artists identify with the queer community and all position themselves within the broadest developments in contemporary art, with particular focus on the topics of body, identity and place. The artists:Adrián Arguedas Ruano, Alina González, Allegra Pacheco, Christian Wedel, Isaac Loría, Javier Calvo, La Cholla Jackson, Lucía Howell, Luciano Goizueta, Matias Sauter Morera, Mimian Hsu Chen, Priscilla Romero-Cubero, and Valiente Pastel.

The exhibition brings visitors into a realm where the diverse beauty of nature is captured and interpreted by artists using various mediums, genres, and techniques in an 8-week group exhibition. Enchanted Earth - Capturing Natures’ Magic is more than an Earth Month exhibition; it's a celebration of the profound connection between humanity and nature, featuring multiple special events, artist talks, and presentations through April and May. Through the lens of these talented artists, witness the convergence of creativity inspired by the awe-inspiring wonders that surround us every day. This captivating art exhibition transcends the ordinary, inviting you on a journey through the intricate dance of flora and fauna, interpreted through the eyes and hands of ten visionary creators. Immerse yourself in a tapestry of colors and textures that echo the delicate hues of a garden with work created in rose petals by Boston artist Lori Schouela, monoprints by Rhonda Burton, and mixed media works that utilize organic materials by Sarah Pigion. Step into a scene of endangered species from Luis Sanchez and nature-influenced pop-surrealism by renowned street artist Mike ‘Tewsr’ Duncan. Appreciate bronze sculpture by Stuart Kusher, and the beautiful organic forms in wood and mixed media by Joshua Abarbanel, Matteo Borgardt and Gary Polonsky, and marvel at the skilled representational hand of Mark Brosmer and his unique trompe l’oeil realism. It’s a diverse exhibition tied together by various nature influences as interpreted by this group of highly skilled mid-career regional and national artists.