Amalia Ulman, Used & New (Installation View), via LTD Gallery

Used & New, the Argentinian-born Amalia Ulman’s current solo show at Los Angeles gallery LTD, explores the slippery relations between consumerism, gender and class. A participant in Hans Ulrich Obrist’s and Simon Castets’ 89plus initiative, the young artist has quickly become known for an art practice that, with a deceptive slightness, investigates the way in which objects are mobilized towards shaping and maintaining social status. By paying close attention to the aesthetic patterns of consumer stratification from the vantage point of economic lack, Ulman’s work proposes a way of looking at the impact that the design, contour and flow of cheap, globalized production have on the gendered construction of the self.

Amalia Ulman, Accepting Donations (Thank you) (2014), via LTD Gallery (more…)

Walead Beshty, Selected Bodies of Work (Installation View), all photos by Brian Forrest, all images Courtesy the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles

Currently on view at Regen Projects in Los Angeles is an exhibition of new work by L.A.-based English photographer, writer and sculptor Walead Beshty, featuring photographs, sculptures, ceramics, and collages surrounding a theme of bodies and labor, specifically in relation to the physical process of art making.

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Brendan Fowler, (That) hat on bedspread (countries of origin:my deposition was postponed and Matt’s took all day) (2014), via Half Gallery

Brendan Fowler’s new works, currently on view at Half Gallery uptown, are nothing if not elusive.  The show, on view last month at Los Angeles’s LAXArt, to New York as a follow-up of sorts to the last showing of photographic works by the artist at MoMA’s survey of new photography late last year (a series of Fowler’s highly-popular crash works).  Here, Fowler seems more interested in the image itself, rather than the potentials for combination and assemblage of the modern image.  The works are created entirely using a commercial grade embroidery machine and thread, leaving layered, textured works that offer a striking commentary on the photographic image. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the demanding logistics of moving Mike Kelley’s recently-closed show at MoMAPS1.  The show, which will open again next month in Los Angeles, required a multi-day deconstruction process, moving more than 200 individual works, and disassembling some of the show’s enormous sculptures.   “It’s one of the most complex exhibitions we’ve ever undertaken,” said PS1’s Peter Eleey, “It’s a very fine-toothed coordination.” (more…)

MOCA’s newly appointed director Philippe Vergne will assume the Director position at MOCA starting on March 10th, the LA Times reports.  MOCA announced the director’s start date via a press email this week. Vergne’s start date was accompanied by news of two new board members at the Museum: Maurice Marciano and Lilly Tartikoff Karatz, as well as a new endowment fundraising goal of $150 million. (more…)

The Broad Museum’s Un-Private Collection series played host to a massively attended conversation between Jeff Koons and John Waters last night in Los Angeles.  The two covered a broad list of topics during the talk, including both Waters and Koons’s first memories of their experience with art.  “I remember when I first went to the Baltimore museum and bought a little Miró print and brought it home.”  Waters said.  “All the other kids said ‘Ugh, that’s ugly, why would you put that ugly thing on your wall?!’ I thought: ‘Ah, the power of art!’ It really made me feel glad everyone hated it.”

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The FIAC Art Fair will launch a Los Angeles edition in April of 2015, bringing the organization to the US for the first time.  The inaugural fair will include about 150 exhibitors, and chose Los Angeles for its “extremely dynamic” location and proximity to Asia and Latin America, according to director Jean-Daniel Compain. (more…)

The Hammer Museum has named its list of artists for Made in L.A., which will open in June.  The list of 35 artists participating in the exhibition include Piero Golia, Tony Greene, Wu Tsang, and project space Public Fiction.     (more…)

In another example of celebrities attempting the conceptual in a gallery setting, actor Shia Labouf has installed himself at Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, welcoming attendees to sit across from him as he cries.  The piece bears resemblance to Marina Abramovic’s The Artist is Present, but centers around LaBouf’s ongoing apologies and accusations of plagiarism. (more…)

Pioneering light artist Keith Sonnier is interviewed in a recent edition of the New York Times Magazine, discussing his show of early works at Pace gallery, and his years working in Los Angeles.  “Flavin called us Dada homosexuals,” Sonnier says. “We were all in the same shows, the only real difference is that they used hard materials and ours were soft.” (more…)

The LA Times has published an in-depth profile of newly announced MOCA Director Philippe Vergne, examining his “collegial” arts background, and his vision for a new, “Artist Enabling” Museum.  Particularly of note is Vergne’s plans to refraine from curating shows himself.  “My role as a director is to enable curators to be what they are at the highest level. By doing that, you enable the artist,” he says. (more…)

Calder and Abstraction: From Avant-Garde to Iconic, (Installation View), all images courtesy LACMA

Currently on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a landmark exhibition of from American sculptor Alexander Calder, including his iconic series of mobiles, as well as his later stabiles. Titled Calder and Abstraction: From Avant Garde to Iconic, the exhibition will remain on view at LACMA for over half a year, from November 24, 2013 through July 27, 2014.

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Philippe Vergne, the current director of the Dia Art Foundation has been selected to replace Jeffrey Deitch as the head of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.  Vergne has previously worked on the 2006 Whitney Biennial, and also served briefly as the head of the François Pinault Foundation.  “The most important challenge for the new director,” former director Richard Koshalek says, “is to raise the standard of expectations of the museum within this community and beyond, and that means new, original ideas for the future.” (more…)

The Museum of Contemporary Art, following an embattled 2013 that saw the departure of Jeffrey Deitch and a potential purchase of the museum by LACMA, has reportedly reached its $100 Million Endowment fundraising goal.  “This means we can take off the table any questions about MOCA’s future,” said board chair Maria Bell. “The remaining questions are exciting ones concerning our upcoming exhibitions.” (more…)

Philanthropist and longtime Los Angeles arts supporter Eli Broad is currently developing his contemporary art museum, The Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles, and has offered a first look at the space.  Costing over $130 million, the 120,000-square-foot museum is set to open late next year. (more…)

Jacob Kassay, Untitled (2013), Courtesy 303 Gallery

Now on view at 303 Gallery is the space’s first exhibition of works by Jacob Kassay. Composed entirely of new works, IJK opened on November 1st and will remain on view through December 20, 2013.

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A once Nazi-looted painting has been returned to its rightful owner, who in turn donated it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  The donation is a rare occurrence for looted works, which are often sold to cover inheritance claims.  The 17th century Baroque portrait by Bernardo Strozzi was installed Monday on the third floor of LACMA. (more…)

A new spread in Harper’s Bazaar features the animated cast of artist Takashi Murakami’s film Jellyfish Eyes, as well as the artist himself, spending time around Los Angeles.  The set of photos includes the monsters walking dogs, eating at In N’ Out Burger, and eating ice cream, all with model Angela Lindvall.  “I’ve always really loved Murakami’s optimism,” says Harper’s Executive Director Laura Brown. (more…)

A Tale of Two Cities, one of the most impressive works on view at Chris Burden’s current New Museum retrospective, was almost destroyed by the artist before the show.  Fearing the requirements of rehabilitating the long unexhibited piece, Burden had planned to destroy the piece as a last conceptual gesture, but museum authorities stepped in to convince him to try saving the work with a small restored section of the original piece.  “Once he saw the first mock-up, it was like a problem had been solved, and he was on to asking about specific toys,” says Donna Williams, the curator of the Orange County Museum (which owns the work). (more…)

A number of artists who left the MOCA Board  in 2012 have joined the search team for selecting a new director for Los Angeles’s contemporary art museum.  John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie and Ed Ruscha have all signed on as part of the 14-person board, and will help in the search and selection process.  “Pertinent qualities [for a new director] would be fundraising, experience in how a museum operates, and most importantly, vast curatorial skill,” Baldessari said. “It would be a real opportunity to whoever is appointed, because there’s nowhere to go but up.” (more…)

Cecily Brown, Untitled (The Beautiful and the Damned) (2013), Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

A collection of new and recent paintings by London-born artist Cecily Brown, is currently on view at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills through October 12. The show includes fifteen paintings primarily focusing on the the human form as an abstraction, and follows up on a previous body of work shown in at Gagosian’s New York gallery earlier this year.

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Los Angeles collector and patron Eli Broad is at the top of a new list detailing the top art collectors around the world, titled Larry’s List.  Contrasting with the annually published ARTnews assessment, Larry’s List ranks collectors based on Internet presence, institutional engagement, art fair participation, communications platforms, and the physical visibility and scale of their collection.  A full 60-page report will be published later this year. (more…)

With the Eli Broad Museum set to open across the street from MOCA sometime next fall, the high-profile collector and patron has announced his intentions to withdraw his annual contribution of $3 million to MOCA, effectively stepping back from his longtime role as the museum’s leading supporter.  Even so, Broad has expressed excitement about the potentials for his museum and its effects on MOCA, noting that it will increase the draw of art lovers to the area.  “They’re excited about it. They know that we’re going to be a great attraction, we’re going to spend time and energy and marketing getting attendance, and they’re going to be the beneficiary of all that,” he said. (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch will once again exhibit in New York, the New York Times reports.  The current curator of MOCA has announced a soon to open show at Leila Heller Gallery in Chelsea, focusing on the intersections of graffiti and calligraphies in contemporary art.  Opening September 5th, Calligraffiti: 1984-2013 will feature work from over 50 artists, including Basquiat, Haring, Shirin Neshat, an eL Seed.  ”Graffiti has become an important part of the imagery that has defined the Arab Spring.”  Deitch writes in the catalog.  “Today new communications platforms like Instagram and YouTube have given street art a new resonance.” (more…)