Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Name	Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Established	1978
Location	Los Angeles, California
Type	Contemporary art nonprofit
Director	(varied; see Governance and Funding)

Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions is an artist-run nonprofit exhibition space founded in 1978 in Los Angeles, California, that has presented experimental contemporary art and supported emerging artists. Over decades the organization intersected with major art movements and institutions across California and the United States, collaborating with curators, critics, and artists associated with venues like Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Hammer Museum, Getty Center, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art. Its programming connected artists to residencies, galleries, and universities including California Institute of the Arts, UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, Otis College of Art and Design, and University of Southern California.

History

Founded in 1978 by a collective of artists influenced by West Coast movements and alternative spaces such as Ferus Gallery, LA Louver antecedents, and national models like Alternative Spaces (1960s–1980s), the organization emerged amid the cultural shifts following Watts Riots and the growth of Hollywood-adjacent art communities. Early leadership included figures networked with J. Paul Getty Museum donors, critics who wrote for Artforum and Art in America, and curators affiliated with biennials such as the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial. The space moved through several neighborhoods, intersecting with arts districts linked to Downtown Los Angeles, Silver Lake, and Culver City, while maintaining ties to artist-run projects like Gallery 24 and cooperative initiatives similar to The Kitchen in New York City. Collaborations and exchanges involved visitor programs with institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Hayward Gallery, and regional partners like Orange County Museum of Art.

Mission and Programming

The organization's mission emphasized experimental presentation, community engagement, and artist support in dialogue with institutions such as National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, and foundations like the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Guggenheim Foundation. Programming combined solo exhibitions, group projects, performance art, film screenings, and panel discussions that linked to scholarly frameworks from Getty Research Institute and critical discourse in publications like Frieze and Los Angeles Times (newspaper). It fostered cross-disciplinary projects with practitioners from Dance Theater Workshop, LA Phil (Los Angeles Philharmonic), and performing artists associated with Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown. Curatorial partnerships occasionally included curators from Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Walker Art Center, Seattle Art Museum, and university galleries such as UCLA Hammer Museum affiliates.

Notable Exhibitions and Artists

Exhibitions featured emerging and established artists who later exhibited at institutions including MoMA PS1, New Museum, Palais de Tokyo, and international biennials. Artists and collaborators associated with the space have included figures who also worked with John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, David Hockney, Anselm Kiefer, Takashi Murakami, Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Yayoi Kusama, Julie Mehretu, Kara Walker, Jeff Koons, Glenn Ligon, Chris Burden, Ruth Asawa, Richard Serra, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Frank Stella, Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, Jenny Saville, Damien Hirst, Matthew Barney, Nan Goldin, Shirin Neshat, Sonia Boyce, Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu, Cecilia Vicuña, Tania Bruguera, Hito Steyerl, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Danh Vo, Theaster Gates, Ai-Da (robot) and artist-collectives akin to Group Material and General Idea. Critical responses appeared in outlets including ArtReview, The New Yorker, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times (newspaper), and Hyperallergic.

Education and Community Outreach

Educational initiatives partnered with local schools and higher education programs like CalArts, UCLA, USC Roski School of Art and Design, and community organizations including LA County Library branches, Skid Row Housing Trust outreach, and neighborhood arts coalitions resembling Arts for LA. Outreach included workshops with curators from Getty Foundation programs, artist talks featuring figures linked to Black Lives Matter cultural initiatives, teen art programs modeled after Youth Art Los Angeles, and collaborative projects with museums such as Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Hammer Museum education departments.

Facilities and Locations

The organization occupied storefront and warehouse sites with proximity to cultural nodes like Grand Avenue (Los Angeles), Arts District, Los Angeles, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, and Beverly Hills galleries. Exhibition spaces shared urban contexts with institutions including The Broad, Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pacific Design Center, and artist studios near Chinatown, Los Angeles and Echo Park. Logistic partnerships involved conservation and installation services associated with Getty Conservation Institute and shipping agreements like those used by Sotheby's and Christie's.

Governance and Funding

Governance involved a board of directors and rotating curatorial committees, drawing trustees with affiliations to universities such as UCLA, USC, and philanthropic entities including the Annenberg Foundation, W. M. Keck Foundation, Ford Foundation, and corporate supporters similar to Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. and Mellon Foundation grant programs. Funding streams included project grants from National Endowment for the Humanities-adjacent cultural funds, individual patronage like collectors associated with Broad Art Foundation and gallery networks including Gagosian Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery, and multilateral support from city arts offices including Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles. Administrative models mirrored nonprofit arts organizations that report to regulatory frameworks involving Internal Revenue Service filings and nonprofit best practices promoted by organizations such as Independent Sector.

Category:Arts organizations based in California