The Huntington Gets Hip

April 20, 2021

Featuring work by 30 L.A. based artists including UCLA Arts alumna Monica Majoli, “Made in L.A.” represents an effort by the Huntington to expand its contemporary art programming and present more artists of color. The exhibition has transformed the library's museum into a spotlight for groundbreaking local art.

A pair of Umar Rashid’s paintings, critiquing Spanish-controlled colonial California, surround a leaded glass window from the Huntington’s permanent collection. In the foreground, Ann Greene Kelly’s chairs recall the drapery in the 1859 marble sculpture “Zenobia in Chains.”

"SAN MARINO, Calif. — The juxtaposition is striking. In one gallery, Thomas Gainsborough’s classic 18th-century oil painting, “The Blue Boy,” gazes out from the ornate walls, having just undergone an extensive restoration. In another gallery, an installation by the Los Angeles artist Monica Majoli explores Blueboy magazine, one of the earliest gay publications in the U.S., through sultry images of scantily dressed young men.

When did the Huntington get hip?

This is not the institution you thought you knew for its Beaux-Arts mansion, imposing research library and elegant botanical gardens, including one inspired by Suzhou, China. It’s now also a hub for cutting-edge contemporary art.

For the first time, the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens has joined the Hammer Museum in presenting the biennial, “Made in L.A. 2020: a version,” which spotlights videos, films, sculptures, performances and paintings by 30 Los Angeles-based artists."— Robin Pogrebin, Apr. 20, 2021

This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the New York Times website.

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