Perhaps no other city in the world has witnessed a growth in its arts scene over the past decade or so like Los Angeles. If you’re interested in art in Los Angeles, you likely already know about The Broad and Hauser Wirth. But there’s a vast array of smaller galleries and places to engage with art across the city—here’s a look at just a few of our favorites off the beaten track.
Institute of Contemporary Art, LA
Billed as the first survey of Asian American artists at a major Los Angeles contemporary art museum, “Scratching at the Moon” gathers the work of 13 artists in Los Angeles over the last five decades. The show (on view through July 28) began, in part, as a response to the increase in attacks on Asian Americans in 2020, amid false rhetoric about the pandemic. Across many mediums, the works confront identity formation, immigration, cultural assimilation, gentrification, family dynamics, and much more. Don’t miss the voyeuristic yet melancholy photographs of solitary audience members in Berlin adult-movie theaters by Dean Sameshima, who’s found many new fans with works from the same series at this year’s Venice Biennale.
Commonwealth and Council
The gallery has been hot on the art world’s lips of late, thanks to a thrilling roster of artists generating buzz at major fairs and shows from New York to Venice. Founders Young Chung and Kibum Kim gravitate toward experimental and conceptual artists from marginalized backgrounds who reflect the diversity of Los Angeles and the West Coast more broadly; many are people of color, queer, and/or raised working-class. A recent show about wisdom inherited from one’s family included artist Lotus L. Kang’s series of stainless-steel bowls (often used in Korean households for making kimchi) spread across the floor, containing aluminum casts of foods like cabbage, anchovies, and lotus roots marinating in silicone.
Jeffrey Deitch
Former MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch’s two outposts in West Hollywood are sprawling affairs that can accommodate extensive, immersive shows as well as museum-quality programs and events. And he remains committed to local artists, as evidenced by the excellent show “At the Edge of the Sun,” organized by the 12 LA-based Latinx artists whose work is featured themselves. The exhibition, on view through June 1, is a snapshot of a place and time that conveys clear, compelling perspectives, with many works exploring the iconography of LA and the US and referencing Latino culture, history, and daily experiences.
Regen Projects
A welcome sense of peace permeates Alberta Whittle’s first show at Regen Projects, “Learning a new punctuation for hope in times of disaster.” Through a set of tender new paintings and sculptural works, the Glasgow-based artist demonstrates her approach to cultivating community, compassion, and care in response to catastrophe. The exhibition, on view through May 18, also includes “Lagareh — The Last Born,” a film foregrounding the strength of Black women through individual acts of resistance; Whittle debuted the work when she represented Scotland at the 2022 Venice Biennale, and this marks its first appearance in North America.
A Bunch of Savages
This up-and-coming creative collective of Filipino Americans is one to watch. It boasts an eclectic lineup of programming, from lumpia-making workshops to panels about music-content production, handing out grants to short films, and screening undersung indie gems like 2000’s The Debut (pronounced the Filipino way: “day-boo”). Its name comes from Theodore Roosevelt’s description of Filipinos in 1899.
Pendry West Hollywood
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Located in the heart of the Sunset Strip, the Pendry West Hollywood oozes Hollywood Hills glamour. Should you ever tire of gazing at the stunning view stretching to Downtown LA, the hotel’s art collection also has plenty to offer, featuring local artists alongside the internationally acclaimed, with a focus on evoking laid-back California glamour. That tinkling sound when you step out of your car? That’s Cao Perrot’s fanciful golden tree sculpture with shimmering mother-of-pearl leaves, each adorned with a Swarovski crystal. Anthony James’s luminous installation 70’ Icosahedron, meanwhile, exerts its own force field in the lobby.
Soho Warehouse
The main entrance of the Soho Warehouse may seem modest by luxury hotel standards, but the Shephard Fairey mural standing sentry hints at the impressive art collection tucked inside. It’s one of six site-specific commissions in the members’ club and hotel exploring language and the body and part of 150 artworks spread across seven floors in the century-old former industrial building. The property’s opening in 2019 coincided with the flourishing of Downtown LA’s art scene, and the collection’s emphasis is on local contemporary artists, some of whom have studios mere steps away; look out for works by Mark Bradford, Juliana Huxtable, Christina Quarles, Christine Sun Kim, Tschabalala Self, Martine Syms, and Amalia Ulman.
