'Pipilotti Rist: Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor,’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Must-See in LA: Immersive, New, and Historic Artworks

1 November 2021

This fall, do not miss the debut of Hauser & Wirth artists’ new, immersive, and historic work in galleries and museums across Los Angeles, one of the most vibrant art cities in the world. From Mid-City to Downtown, explore spellbinding video installations by Pipilotti Rist, get lost in abstracted sculptural forms by Paul McCarthy, experience new video works by Diana Thater, and witness Amy Sherald’s historic portrait of the first lady Mrs. Michelle Obama, before it travels to its next destination in The Obama Portraits Tour.

Be sure to stop by Hauser & Wirth’s Arts District space to view exhibitions dedicated to Günther Förg’s formative Grid Paintings and Lorna Simpson’s new multivalent works, as well as an accompanying special presentation in the Book & Printed Matter Lab dedicated to film students of Cal State LA’s innovative course Community Impact Media.

Plan your visit by following the links below.

'Pipilotti Rist: Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor,’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Pipilotti Rist Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles 12 Sep 2021 – 6 Jun 2022

In the museum’s first carbon-neutral exhibition, Pipilotti Rist is the subject of her first West Coast survey at MOCA Geffen. The Zürich-based artist debuts a new, immersive audio-visual installation created exclusively for the museum space complimented by a showcase of more than 30 years of artwork.

Special ticketed exhibition ($10 – $18).

Book online

‘The Obama Portraits Tour,’ Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Obama Portraits Tour Los Angeles County Museum of Art 7 Nov 2021 – 2 Jan 2022

As a part of the five-city travelling exhibition, The Obama Portraits Tour, Amy Sherald’s iconic portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama travels to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art alongside Kehinde Wiley’s celebrated painting of President Barack Obama.

Exhibition is included with general admission tickets to the museum ($25).

Book online

‘Black American Portraits,’ Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Black American Portraits Los Angeles County Museum of Art 7 Nov 2021 – 17 Apr 2022

To complement the presentation of The Obama Portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald on tour from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), LACMA presents ‘Black American Portraits.’ Spanning over two centuries from c. 1800 to the present day, this selection of approximately 150 works draws primarily from LACMA’s permanent collection – including key works by artists Charles Gaines, Lorna Simpson, Henry Taylor, among others – and highlights emancipation and early studio photography, scenes from the Harlem Renaissance, portraits from the Civil Rights and Black Power eras, and multiculturalism of the 1990s. ‘Black American Portraits’ chronicles the ways in which Black Americans have used portraiture to envision themselves in their own eyes. Countering a visual culture that often demonizes Blackness and fetishizes the spectacle of Black pain, these images center love, abundance, family, community, and exuberance.

Exhibition is included with general admission tickets to the museum ($25).

Book online

'Paul McCarthy. Parts Make Up a Hole', The Box

Paul McCarthy Parts Make Up a Hole The Box 9 Oct – 18 Dec 2021

This multimedia presentation of never-before-seen and recent works, including sculpture, drawing, and video, brings together three of McCarthy’s major bodies of work including, Caribbean Pirates (2001 – 2016), a collaboration with Damon McCarthy, White Snow (2008 – 2017), and A&E, Adolf & Eva/Adam & Eve (2019 – Present).

Free and open to the public.

Plan your visit

'Diana Thater. The Conversation’, 1301PE

Diana Thater The Conversation 1301PE 25 Sep – 13 Nov 2021

Diana Thater continues her exploration of the complex relationships between humans and the natural world in ‘The Conversation’ at 1301PE. The new multimedia works generate an experience with which the viewer can empathize without anthropomorphizing, subverting the false notion that the use of language is what separates humans from animals.

Free and open to the public.

Plan your visit

Images: Installation view, ‘Pipilotti Rist: Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor’, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles CA, 12 September 2021 – 6 June 2022 © Pipilotti Rist. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: Zak Kelley; (left) ‘Barack Obama’ by Kehinde Wiley, 2018, oil on canvas, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © 2018 Kehinde Wiley. (right) ‘Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama’ (detail) by Amy Sherald, 2018, oil on linen, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Charles Gaines, Numbers and Faces: Multi-Racial/Ethnic Combinations Series 1: Face #7, Eduardo Soriano-Hewitt (Black/Filipino), 2020 © Charles Gaines. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen; Installation view, 'Paul McCarthy. Parts Make Up a Hole', The Box, Los Angeles CA, 9 October – 18 December 2021 © Paul McCarthy. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen; Installation view, 'Diana Thater. The Conversation’, 1301PE, Los Angeles CA, 25 September – 13 November 2021 © Diana Thater. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen