The Art of Summer
If you’re looking to explore some of the best art shows currently happening in Southern California, there are several must-see exhibitions across the region:
- Ed Ruscha / Now Then at LACMA, Los Angeles (until October 6, 2024): This comprehensive retrospective offers a deep dive into Ed Ruscha’s career, showcasing his iconic works that reflect the American landscape and culture.
- Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Daylight Studio/Dark Room Studio at Vielmetter, Los Angeles (through October 22, 2024): Sepuya’s exhibition features photography that merges historical references with a contemporary, queer perspective, exploring themes of intimacy and visibility.
- Impermanence by Yukie Ishikawa at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles: This exhibit highlights Ishikawa’s unique style, blending minimalist elements with textured materials, resulting in hauntingly beautiful abstractions.
- Festival of Arts & Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach (through September 2, 2024): These iconic outdoor festivals feature works by some of Southern California’s finest artists and a live performance where art literally comes to life on stage
Ed Ruscha has consistently held up a mirror to American society by transforming some of its defining attributes—from consumer culture and popular entertainment to the ever-changing urban landscape—into the very subject of his art. In 1956, Ruscha left Oklahoma City to study commercial art in Los Angeles, where he drew inspiration from the city’s architectural landscape—parking lots, urban streets, and apartment buildings—and colloquial language.
As his first comprehensive, cross-media retrospective in over 20 years, ED RUSCHA / NOW THEN traces Ruscha’s methods and familiar subjects throughout his career and underscores the many remarkable contributions he has made well beyond the boundaries of the art world. The exhibition includes his early works produced while traveling through Europe, his installations—such as the Chocolate Room and the Course of Empire presented at the Venice Biennale in 1970 and 2005, respectively—and his ceaseless photographic documentation of the streets of Los Angeles beginning in 1965.
