Contemporary Art

A collection of 26 posts

Installation Art

Jónsi: Vox (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 11/22/23] I was unprepared. The curtain was standard theatre: black, velvet, heavy. I first heard the shrouded sounds from across the room, but the vocalizations had no recognizable shape or meaning; from the outside there was nothing exactly identifiable. I pushed through the fabric

Installation Art

Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 7/25/23] The worlds of art and design are rife with collaborations. Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life is different. This one is with spiders. A continuation of Saraceno’s body of work, Web(s) of Life is extraordinary. Urgent, universal messaging about

Installation

The Network (Capsule Review)

Hammer Projects: Chiharu Shiota

Contemporary Art

Arsham Auto Motive (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 4/11/23] The Petersen Automotive Museum is one of the world’s largest automotive museums. Previous exhibitions include The Porsche Effect, a stunning feature of the most significant Porsche models ever built, and Bond in Motion, the first official U.S. installation of original vehicles

Augmented Reality

Tin Drum: Medusa (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 4/11/23] A dinner party. A conversation about “what architecture means if it’s free from the physical realities of shelter or boundary or whatever it is that it’s supposed to do.” In recounting this story to Fast Company, Todd Eckert described the inception

Contemporary Art

Desert X 2023 Begets Apathy and Heartbreaking Magic (Review)

Coachella Valley hosts the biennial’s fourth U.S. exhibition

Contemporary Art

Mulyana: Modular Utopia (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 3/7/23] In downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to the vehicular stream of a busy thoroughfare, is a gorgeous expanse of coral reef with thousands of fish, a massive whale, and clusters of sea anemone — all captivating and transportive. Get Laura Hess’s stories in your

Contemporary Art

Refik Anadol: Living Paintings (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 2/28/23] Refik Anadol’s work is “a unique experience that explores the interaction between technology and art. The exhibition is a collection of installations that combine data visualization, machine learning, and architecture to create a mesmerizing display of light and sound.” Or so says

Contemporary Art

DIVERSEartLA (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 2/22/23] An anchor of Los Angeles’ Art Fair Week, the LA Art Show is the city’s largest and longest-running fair. The 2023 iteration included 120 participating galleries from around the world, showcasing an estimated 20,000 artworks and drawing a gaggle of 70,

Contemporary Art

Lucy McRae: Future Sensitive (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 12/13/22] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Future Sensitive is the title of Lucy McRae’s show at Honor Fraser. And it feels like a future that’s not only here,

Contemporary Art

LIFE CYCLES | A Bamboo Exploration with Tanabe Chikuunsai IV (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 12/13/22] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Furrowed in the tourist heart of Hollywood is a cultural gem. JAPAN HOUSE offers thoughtful Japanese-centric programming and art exhibitions. Last year, Kengo Kito’

Contemporary Art

Nancy Holt: Locating Perception (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 12/13/22] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe An expansive multimedia artist, the late Nancy Holt has a collection of works on view at Sprüth Magers. Locating Perception consists of photography series

Review

Within Sound: The Acoustic Sculptures of Michael Brewster (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 8/16/22] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Near Pasadena, at more than 5,700 feet, sits the Mount Wilson Observatory. Its 60- and 100-inch astronomical telescopes are the two largest telescopes

Installation Art

Resonant Tones: Ü & EYEYE by Lykke Li (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 9/7/22] I was surprised that Ü & EYEYE failed to deliver. In partnership with an esteemed cultural institution, an internationally acclaimed, award-winning musician unveiled a new, audiovisual album (described as “the singer’s magnum opus”) accompanied by a live performance. So what went wrong?

Installation Art

Hammer Projects: Tita Cicognani (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 9/7/22] I recently made a reservation. Not for dinner at a restaurant or a stay at a hotel. I booked a reservation, for a hot tub, in an art museum. An embellished version of the classic motel novelty, Tita Cicognani’s Heart Tub is

Experiential

Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 5/24/22] Masked and tired, I sat on a bench watching the video. I have a hollowness from recent years; my chest cavity feels cratered and clawed out. The video’s editing was fast and strange: photos of adorable cats in toilet bowls spliced with

Installation Art

‘Pipilotti Rist: Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor’ Merges Bodies and Environments (Review)

Home is where the (magnified, projected) heart is

Installation Art

Glenn Kaino: Tidepools (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 9/28/21] There’s a difference between hope and optimism. The distinction has only become more salient since COVID’s arrival. A critical part of the equation is agency: those with hope believe in a personal ability to effect positive change on a small or

Installation Art

Divine Immersion: The Experiential Art of Nick Dong (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 8/10/21] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Divine Immersion: The Experiential Art of Nick Dong is a problematic show to cover for two reasons: its effects are indescribable and it’s

Art Fair

LA Art Show 2021 (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 8/3/21] For years I’ve been attending the LA Art Show. This year, I’m making my claim in (digital) print: the art fair model needs to be reimagined. Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates

Installation Art

Spinning Tales (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 7/27/21] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Best known for his sweeping architecture, Frank Gehry’s oeuvre also includes sculptural works. Gehry’s current show at Gagosian focuses on two presentations:

Installation Art

RECONNECTING: A Vision of Unity (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 6/22/21] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Located in the Hollywood & Highland retail complex, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles includes a gallery, event venue, library, cafe, and a forthcoming restaurant. An

Installation Art

Luna Ikuta: Afterlife (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 5/18/21; Transparent Garden is now Afterlife] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe Afterlife, by local multimedia artist Luna Ikuta, is evocative. The small gallery houses a series of aquarium tanks, each

Installation Art

Lygia Pape Tupinambá (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 5/11/21] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe In DTLA’s Arts District, Hauser & Wirth is hosting Los Angeles’ first solo exhibition of Brazilian artist Lygia Pape. In the 1950s, Pape

Installation Art

Roland Reiss: The Castle of Perseverance (Capsule Review)

[Original publication: No Proscenium, 5/4/21] Get Laura Hess’s stories in your inbox Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer. SubscribeSubscribe In Hollywood, there’s a living room made entirely of particleboard and it is wonderful. Roland Reiss: The Castle of Perseverance is a “typical