Michele StuevenThe long-awaited 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, has landed in Exposition Park and will open its doors on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The new 11-acre campus includes a park designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA: a green, multilayered gathering place for local communities and programming that brings learning and engagement outdoors.
The inaugural exhibitions include more than 1,200 objects representing narrative art across time and around the world, installed across more than 30 galleries, that occupy about 100,000 square feet of gallery space.
Drawn from the Museum’s founding collection, the exhibitions trace the evolution of human culture through storytelling, from ancient sculptures of gods and goddesses to Renaissance paintings to photography, comics, and modern cinema.
Many exhibitions are organized by theme, focusing on myths about love, family, community, and adventure, connecting every generation. Other exhibitions are devoted to individual artists of the 20th century.
George Lucas and Mellody Hobson co-founded the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to honor the universal tradition of telling stories through images. Encompassing everything from prehistoric cave paintings to today’s screen art, the Museum explores and celebrates the power of visual storytelling.
Courtesy Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art
Exhibitions include:
- Architecture – the innovative designs that inspired the architectural vision of the museum
- Benton – selected Works of Thomas Hart Benton’s depiction of American life
- Children’s stories – illustrations of children’s literature by Beatrix Potter, Leo Politi, E.H. Shepard, Jacob Lawrence, and more
- Cinema – a selection of production designs, props, and costumes from the Lucas Archives
- Everyday life – a series of galleries dedicated to visual stories about childhood, community, family, love, motherhood, play, school, sports, and work, expressing the myths that have both reflected and shaped modern American society
- Civic Life – artists’ portrayals of experience in the courthouse, the polling place, the political headquarters, and more
- Comics and Graphic Stories – a showcase of the museum’s deep holdings of American and European comics, including works by Mœbius, Marie Severin, Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, and Rafael Navarro
- Manga • Anime – selections from the Museum’s collection of the influential work in Japanese illustration and animation
- Frazetta – selected illustrations and book covers by the flamboyant Frank Frazetta
- History – paintings, prints, and illustrations telling and re-telling the stories of major historical events
- Jessie Willcox Smith – classic scenes by the illustrator of fairy tales and childhood scenes
- Murals – large-scale, public works of narrative art by Judith F. Baca, Diego Rivera, and JR
- Narrative Forms: a series of galleries highlighting narrative art across genres of adventure, fantasy, romance, and science fiction by artists including Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Ken Kelly, Georges Méliès, John C. Berkey, and Jeffrey Catherine Jones
- Parrish – lush, dreamy visions from the early 20th century by illustrator Maxfield Parrish
- Photography – documentary images by Robert Capa, Gordon Parks, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Dorothea Lange, and others
- Rockwell – a selection of the Museum’s renowned holdings of works by premier American illustrator Norman Rockwell
- Wyeth – book illustrations from the 1910s through the 1940s by the incomparable N.C. Wyeth
- Western Stories – myths of the American West, including wagon trains, shoot-outs, and frontier towns.
Roberta Flack’s Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano (Courtesy Julien’s Auctions)
Julien’s Auctions, the celebrity and music memorabilia auction house, will present “Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music” — a no-reserve auction celebrating the life, artistry, and cultural impact of one of the most beloved singers in American music history. The event takes place on Thursday, May 14, at 10 a.m. at Julien’s Auctions in LA, with all proceeds benefiting the Roberta Flack Foundation and her lifelong commitment to music education and the arts.
Highlights include Flack’s Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano, jewelry by Bulgari and others, stage- and screen-worn gowns, and historically significant telegrams from civil rights leaders, along with awards recognizing her service. All items are available to view here.
The 47th annual Venice Family Clinic Art Exhibition and Auction (formerly Venice Art Walk) will take place from Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 17, and will feature the works of established, mid-career, and emerging artists. The event is free and open to the public at 910 Abbot Kinney in Venice, with artwork available to view and bid online.
Alongside this year’s signature artist, Alison Saar, the exhibit will showcase works from more than 150 artists, including Pop Art icon Ed Ruscha; Light and Space pioneer Helen Pashgian; East Village legends Kenny Scharf and Ed Moses; conceptual artist Frances Stark; skate culture visionary Ed Templeton; ceramicist Peter Shire; Laddie John Dill, Max Hooper Schneider, Sula Bermúdez-Silverman, Umar Rashid, Nancy Evans and many more.
Proceeds from art sales will support the Clinic’s efforts to provide comprehensive health care services to more than 45,000 people across the Westside of LA, Inglewood, and the South Bay.
Venice Family Clinic Art Exhibition and Auction highlights (Courtesy Venice Family Clinic)
Balancing intimacy with expansiveness, internationally renowned photographer Andrew MacPherson’s book Synchronicity captures the resilience of flora blooming across Los Angeles and Southwest landscapes. With a subtle nod to the stark immediacy of Weegee and the stylized surrealism of Guy Bourdin, Macpherson’s images transform fleeting blooms into vivid, otherworldly encounters. His exhibit at Arcane Space opens on Friday, May 8, and runs through Sunday, May 31. There will be a book signing on Saturday, May 9, and an artist’s talk on Sunday, May 24.
