Opening September 16th, a former Getty filling station in West Chelsea is scheduled for conversion into a temporary public art program, beginning with an exhibition of sheep sculptures by the late French artist Francois-Xavier Lalanne.  The project was initially conceived by dealer Paul Kasmin, who represents the Lalanne estate, and real estate developer Michael Shvo, whose company purchased the station this summer.  Sheep Station, as it is called, will feature 25 of Lalanne’s “Mouton” sculptures, each made of epoxy stone and bronze.

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Following the departure of Frank Gehry, and an installation project currently running behind schedule, MOCA Guest Curator Christopher Mount has speculated that the museum may have to cancel its planned exhibition for the Getty Museum’s Pacific Standard Time show on Modern Architecture.  Titled A New Sculpturalism, the exhibition ran into delays when architects (including Gehry) began expressing concern over how Mount was choosing to display and explain their work.  “I didn’t feel comfortable in it,” Gehry said. “It didn’t seem to be a scholarly, well-organized show.” (more…)

Pacific Standard Time, the massive collaboration among Southern California museums, has generated revenue of almost 10 times the Getty’s initial investment of $12 million. Total visitor spending is estimated at $111.5 million and state and local taxes generated an estimated $19.4 million. The Getty stated that they will use this study as a benchmark to measure the economic impact of future shows. (more…)

‪Australian Timothy Potts has been appointed curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Fellow director Michael Brand, onetime director at the Getty, has taken a position at Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales. [AO Newslink]

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David Hockney, A Bigger Splash (1967). All images via Artnet.

Not only is the Getty the hub of activities for the Southern California-wide Pacific Standard Time (PST) programming, but it is also host to a number of events and exhibitions, including Greetings from L.A.: Artists and Publics, 1950-1980, From Start to Finish: De Wain Valentine’s Gray Column, In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945-1980, and performances for the Performance and Public Art Festival that will take place later in January. It has also mounted the large-scale, historical exhibition Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950 -1970. With 79 works by 47 artists, the exhibition charts the unique artistic innovations that have come to define the Los Angeles art scene as well as helped to shape some of the most important art movements from the second half of the 20^th century.

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