“PST ART: Art & Science Collide” is now the nation’s largest arts initiative, linked across 70 exhibitions, from Santa Barbara to San Diego, supported by $20 million in grants. Events officially kicked off locally on Sept. 15, with a performance by artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, proving that the current L.A. art scene is one of the most spectacular in the world.
The initiative’s diverse range of communal experiences should entertain all walks of life. They range from a runway fashion show in collaboration with the Autry Museums featuring futuristic creations by Indigenous designers at the Getty Center to the Wende Museum’s commemorative rocket launch of a replica of the Sputnik satellite, and an evening of deep-space communication hosted by comedian Reggie Watts and organized by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Designed for people of all ages and backgrounds, these programs will ensure that everyone can find something in “Art & Science Collide” to excite, illuminate and engage,” said Katherine E. Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. And, luckily for us, most of these events are sticking around for months to come.
A press preview panel at the Getty on Sept. 10 featured New Mexico artist Cannupa Hanska Luger and Turkish-American new media artist and designer Refik Anadol and offered a glimpse of upcoming exhibits.
Photos by Sarah Golonka
On Sept. 13 at the Hammer Museum, “Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice” unveiled a groundbreaking indoor-outdoor exhibition that drew over 4,000 people for the opening weekend. It focuses on environmental art practices addressing the climate crisis and anthropogenic disasters, which lead to issues of equity and social justice. Curated by artist Glenn Kaino and guest curator Mika Yoshitake, it features more than 100 artworks by 25 international artists and will be on view until Jan. 5.
The “Breath(e)” preview was preceded by a presentation by the UCLA Film & Television Archive on their PST ART film series “Science Fiction Against the Margins” screening in the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater from Oct. 4 to Dec. 14.
Other art openings surrounding the citywide events on Sept. 12 included Phillips in West Hollywood with a collection of figurative collage works “Yesterday Was Hard” by YoYo Lander in collaboration with Superposition Gallery.
Across the street, Hauser & Wirth’s group exhibition of “L.A. Story” was inspired by the 1991 film. It was co-organized by Ingrid Schaffner, senior curatorial director, and Mike Davis, senior director, in dialogue with the film’s writer and star Steve Martin. “I’m thrilled that ‘L.A. Story’ is the focus of so many wonderful artists and a wonderful gallery, Hauser & Wirth, which is just across the street from the Troubadour, where I first stepped foot on Santa Monica Boulevard, which began my L.A. sojourn,” said Martin in a statement. On display until January, do not miss this cross-generational array of works by artists depicting the celebration of Los Angeles as a place unlike any other.
Photo by Ryan Miller
The Sycamore area in Hollywood has also become a hotbed for visiting high-profile independent galleries such as Jeffrey Deitch and the sequel to his 1990s ahead-of-its-time “Post Human” collective show with dozens of artists from Jeff Koons to Paul McCarthy, and Mike Kelley who reveal how technology will change our bodies in the future. Lisson Gallery and Carpenters Workshop are also within walking distance.
Nearby in Hollywood, The Aster hotel has a new art gallery program, The Aster Art Initiative, curated by L.A.-based artist Nora Shields, which unveils a new contemporary collection of diverse California artists spanning over two floors.
While the La Brea Tar Pitts is featuring interactive workshops for families, as part of PST, the Academy Museum next door will open “Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema & Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema” on Oct. 1.
Also in October, the free Beverly Hills Fall Art Show taking place on the weekend of Oct. 19-20 will transform four garden blocks into an outdoor gallery, with works of 235 artists from around the globe.
