19 top L.A. County and O.C. museum exhibitions you can see right now
LA Plaza de Cultural y Artes in downtown Los Angeles and Craft Contemporary in the Mid-Wilshire district are among the latest Southern California museums to begin welcoming visitors again after the long pandemic closure. It's a growing list of May museum options that also includes the "Made in L.A." biennial at the Hammer Museum and the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, the Yoshitomo Nara show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a Laguna Beach exhibition celebrating the work of 100-year-old painter Wayne Thiebaud.
Check this May list for weekly updates, and before you go, call or go online for reservation requirements and other COVID-19 protocols. The shows that have our attention:
"Carlos Almaraz: Evolution of Form"
Times columnist Carolina Miranda called the work of this late painter, subject of a 2017 LACMA retrospective, "vital to the ways in which Los Angeles sees itself." This exhibition was postponed when the pandemic closed LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes a week before the show was to open. It explores the Chicano artist’s early life to reveal influences on his style and form.
LA Plaza de Cultural y Artes, 501 N. Main St., L.A. Thursday-Sundays. Free; reservations suggested. (213) 542-6200, lapca.org
Also on view: “Only Light Can Do That,” Patrick Martinez's neon mural installation with messages of inspiration for essential workers, part of the Art Rise initiative for Mental Health Awareness Month (through Sept. 7).
“Making Time”
Works by L.A.-based artists that explore the concept of time, on view through Sept. 12
Craft Contemporary, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Thursday-Sunday. $7, $9; Sundays are pay what you can; reservations required. craftcontemporary.org
Also on view: "Tomoshibi: Glass Works by Kazuki Takizawa," works by the L.A.-based artist (through Sept. 12); "Cathy Cooper: Dramatis Personae," pieces by the L.A.-based artist, performer and costume designer (through Sept. 12).
Closing Sunday: "Nikita Gale: Private Dancer"
L.A. artist turns lighting trusses into sculpture exploring the communal experience of the concert, with lights programmed to the unheard music by Tina Turner.
California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, L.A. Closed Mondays. Free; reservations required. (213) 744-7432. caamuseum.org
Also on view: "Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth." (through May 30); "Sanctuary: Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection" (through July 11); "Sula Bermúdez-Silverman: Neither Fish, Flesh, nor Fowl" (through Sunday); "Enunciated Life" (through Aug. 15)
“See Thy Neighbor: Stern Photographers Thomas Hoepker and Harald Schmitt in the GDR”
Two photographers with very different points of view on East German life in the 1970s and '80s. On view through Oct. 24
Wende Museum, 10808 Culver Blvd., Culver City. Open Fri.-Sun. Free; advance reservations required. (310) 216-1600. wendemuseum.org
Also on view: “Common Fantasy” (through Sept. 2); “Transformations: Living Room -> Flea Market -> Museum -> Art” and “Relics of the Cold War: Photographs by Martin Roemers” (through Oct. 24)
"Made in L.A. 2020: a version"
The Hammer's fifth biennial, presented this year with the Huntington, has opened at last and is on view through Aug. 1 | TIMES FEATURE | REVIEW
Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Closed Mondays. Free; reservations required. (310) 443-7000. hammer.ucla.edu. Also at the Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Closed Tuesdays. $13-$29; children younger than 4, free; advance purchase required. (626) 405-2100. huntington.org
"Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins"
Statuary, pottery, wall paintings and other antiquities from the Louvre, on view through Aug. 16 | TIMES REVIEW
The Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. Closed Tue. Free; advanced tickets required. (310) 440-7300. getty.edu
Also on view: "Assyria: Palace Art of Ancient Iraq" (through Sept. 5)
"Under a Mushroom Cloud: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Atomic Bomb"
Personal effects of atomic bomb victims, on view through June 13
Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo, L.A. Closed Mondays. Free; advance tickets required. (213) 625-0414. janm.org
Also on view: "Transcendients: Heroes at Borders" and "Transcendients: 100 Days of COVID-19 and Memorial to Healthcare Workers," multimedia exhibits by Taiji Terasaki that salute social justice advocates and frontline medical personnel.
"Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic"
On view through June 20 |TIMES FEATURE
Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Closed Mondays. $10-$15; children younger than 12 free; advance purchase recommended. (714) 567-3600. bowers.org
Also on view: "Test of Medal: Charles J. Shaw and the Montford Point Marines" (through June 27); "Treasures in Gold & Jade: Masterworks from Taiwan" (through Sept. 5); "Artistic Legacy: The Ann and Bill Cullen Collection" (Aug. 28 through winter 2022)
"Yoshitomo Nara"
A three-decade survey of works by the Japanese artist, on view through July 5. | TIMES REVIEW
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Closed Wednesdays. $10-$25; ages 12 and younger are free; advance timed-entry tickets required. (323) 857-6010. lacma.org
Also on view: "Not I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE–2020 CE)," exploring ventriloquism in art (through July 25); "Cauleen Smith: Give It or Leave It," multimedia works by the L.A.-based artist (through Oct. 31); "Bill Viola: Slowly Turning Narrative," room-sized video installation (through June 27); "Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera," images of the LACMA campus (through Sept. 12); "Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific" (through May 12); "Do Ho Suh: 348 West 22nd Street," installation re-creating the artist's New York apartment in sheets of translucent polyester (through May 16).
"The Art of the Brick"
Artworks made from Legos.
California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Drive, L.A. Open daily. Permanent exhibits are free; special exhibits (including "The Art of the Brick") and IMAX films vary in price. Advance reservations required. (323) 724-3623. californiasciencecenter.org
Also on view: "Mission 26: The Big Endeavour," exploring the relocation of the space shuttle to Southern California.
"Free State"
Exploration of human rights, democracy, the environment on view through Sept. 18.
ESMoA (El Segundo Museum of Art), 208 Main St., El Segundo. Open Fridays and Saturdays. Free; advance timed-entry tickets required. (424) 277-1020. esmoa.org
"Wayne Thiebaud: Clowns"
Paintings, drawings and etchings on view through Oct. 24.
Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach. Closed Wednesdays. $5, $7; 17 and younger are free. (949) 494-8971. lagunaartmuseum.org.
Also on view: "Hymns to the Silence," black and white images of architectural structures by Jacques Garnier (through Oct. 24).
"When I Remember I See Red: American Indian Art and Activism in California"
On view through Nov. 14 .
Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, L.A. Closed Mondays. $6-$14; children younger than 3 free; reservations required. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org
Also on view: "What’s Her Story: Women in the Archives," "California Road Trip," "The Colt Revolver in the American West," and "Investigating Griffith Park"
"Golden Hour: California Photography From the Los Angeles County Museum of Art"
On view through May 9 | TIMES COLUMN
Museum of Art & History, 665 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster. Closed Mondays. Free; reservations required. (661) 723-6250. lancastermoah.org
Also on view: "Ken Marchionno: 300-Miles to Wounded Knee: The Oomaka Tokatakiya, Future Generations Ride," documentary photography (through May 9); "Amir Zaki: Empty Vessel Excerpts," hybridized photography (through May 9); "Eileen Cowin: What It Takes to Survive a Crisis or the Imaginary Richter Scale of Rage," video, photography and multimedia installations (through May 9).
“L’Epoque des Carrossiers: The Art and Times of the French Coach Builders”
Mullin Automotive Museum, 1421 Emerson Ave., Oxnard. Open Fridays-Sundays. $10-$16; ages 2 and younger and active-duty military are free; advance purchase required. (805) 385-5400. mullinautomotivemuseum.com
Also on view: "The Lady of the Lake," "Le Mans," “Schlumpf Reserve Collection”
Butterfly Pavilion
Open through Sept. 6 | TIMES FEATURE
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A. Open Thursdays-Sundays. $8-$17; 2 and younger are free; advance timed-entry tickets required. (213) 763-DINO. nhm.org
Also on view: "Rise Up L.A.: A Century of Votes for Women" (through Oct. 10); "Spiky, Hairy, Shiny: Insects of L.A." (through April 2022)
"Supercars: A Century of Spectacle and Speed"
Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Closed Mondays-Tuesdays. $11-$16; active-duty military and children younger than 4 are free; advance purchase required. (323) 930-2277. petersen.org
Also on view: "Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy," "The Aesthetic of Motoring: 90 Years of Pininfarina," "Alternating Currents: Building an Electric Future," "Extreme Conditions: Modified for Offroad," "Porsche: Redefining Performance," "Silver Shotgun: Italian Motorcycle Design of the 1960s and 1970s."
"The Inconstant World"
Works by international artists exploring perception and abstraction, on view through May 30.
Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1717 E. 7th St., L.A. By appointment. Free. (213) 928-0833. theicala.org
Also on view: "Paul Pescador: PSA," 12 short public service announcement-style videos by the L.A.-based artist and filmmaker, on view through May 30
"Defining Beauty"
International juried exhibition.
California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks at the Oaks, 350 W. Hillcrest Drive. Open Friday-Sunday. Free. (805) 405-5240. cmato.org
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
