This Week in LA: April 16→22
In this Edition: A New LACMA for a New Era — Peter Zumthor's Geffen Galleries Open Alongside Granite Horses, Shattered Glass, and Empty Rooms
The moment Los Angeles has been waiting for is almost here. On April 19, LACMA opens the David Geffen Galleries — Peter Zumthor’s 900-foot-long elevated exhibition space spanning Wilshire Boulevard, holding up to 3,000 objects organized not by medium or period but by ocean and sea, redefining how a museum can present art from all cultures and eras on a single level. The opening concludes a two-decade campus transformation and represents a seismic shift in how LA’s flagship museum invites the world to experience its collection. Tony Smith’s monumental Smoke returns, Alexander Calder’s Three Quintains comes home, and new commissions by Lauren Halsey, Todd Gray, and Diana Thater activate the surrounding 3.5 acres of outdoor space.
Beyond Miracle Mile, the week is stacked. Marc Selwyn Fine Art inaugurates its new Beverly Hills space with two major 1968 installations by Barry Le Va — grey felt dispersed across the floor and twenty-seven sheets of glass systematically shattered — exemplifying the late artist’s radical rethinking of sculpture as evidence and aftermath. At Megan Mulrooney, TJ Rinoski’s Chamber renders domestic interiors in muted ochres and atmospheric grays where no human is ever depicted, positioning the viewer as a voyeur in the space between sleep and wakefulness. Pace Gallery presents Kohei Nawa’s first Los Angeles solo show, Photon Camp, bringing together 20 new works from his iconic PixCell and Prism series. Charles Ray spans two Hollywood galleries — three new sculptures at Matthew Marks, including Fallen Horse, carved from a single block of granite over nearly a decade, alongside rarely seen earlier works at Jeffrey Deitch, among them the iconic life-size Firetruck on loan from The Broad. And at Charlie James Gallery, Nehemiah Cisneros’s Burning Desires marks a striking departure into art-historical self-portraiture, remixing Picasso, Grosz, and Magritte through intimate allegorical scenes.
A landmark week for LA — see the full lineup below.
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On View Now
LACMA | Miracle Mile
David Geffen Galleries Opening
Opens April 19, 2026
@lacma
Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries span Wilshire Boulevard in a 900-foot-long elevated exhibition space holding approximately 2,500 to 3,000 objects — organized not by medium or period but by the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, emphasizing the cultural exchange, migration, and commerce that run throughout the history of art.
Marc Selwyn Fine Art | Beverly Hills
Barry Le Va
On view through May 9, 2026
@marcselwynfineart
Marking the gallery’s inaugural presentation at its new Beverly Hills space, this exhibition brings together two major 1968 installations by Barry Le Va — grey felt cut, folded, and dispersed across the floor in Eliminating Strips, and twenty-seven sheets of glass systematically stacked and shattered in Shattered On Center — exemplifying the late artist’s radical rethinking of sculpture as contingent, temporal, and open-ended.
Timothy Hawkinson Gallery | West Hollywood
Nani Chacon
April 11 – May 9, 2026
@timothyhawkinsongallery
Nani Chacon’s new sculptures explore the striking visual parallels between traditional Diné (Navajo) deity depictions in sand paintings and the electrical towers of coal refineries on the Navajo Nation — speculating on how to transform environmental blight into something positive, alongside Bed Rot paintings that reflect on the current heaviness of the world and a neon piece envisioning a modern depiction of the deity responsible for connecting earth and heavens.
Megan Mulrooney | West Hollywood
TJ Rinoski: Chamber
On view through May 9, 2026
@meganmulrooneygallery
TJ Rinoski’s Chamber presents paintings and etchings of domestic interiors where no human is ever depicted — steam rising from a kettle, morning light hitting a glass of milk, indented pillows — rendered in muted ochres, dusty roses, and atmospheric grays that evoke the transition between sleep and wakefulness, positioning the viewer as a voyeur in an anonymous yet deeply specific private space.
Pace Gallery | Mid-Wilshire / La Brea
Kohei Nawa: Photon Camp
April 11 – June 6, 2026
@pacegallery
Marking Japanese multidisciplinary artist Kohei Nawa’s first solo show in Los Angeles, Photon Camp brings together 20 new works from his iconic PixCell and Prism sculptural series — exploring nuanced relationships between physical and virtual spaces through visual distortions that encourage viewers to consider how digital technologies impact their experience of the physical world.
Matthew Marks and Jeffrey Deitch | Hollywood
Charles Ray
April 18 – June 6, 2026
@matthewmarksgallery / @jeffreydeitchgallery
Across two Hollywood galleries, Charles Ray presents three new sculptures at Matthew Marks — including Fallen Horse, a life-size horse carved from a single block of granite that the artist worked on for nearly a decade — alongside rarely exhibited earlier works at Jeffrey Deitch, among them the iconic Firetruck (1993), a child’s toy enlarged to life-size proportions, on loan from The Broad.
Charlie James Gallery | Chinatown
Nehemiah Cisneros: Burning Desires
April 17 – May 23, 2026
@charliejamesgallery
In a stark departure from earlier work rooted in comics and street art, Nehemiah Cisneros’s Burning Desires adopts a more introspective stance — remixing art history through intimate self-portraits in soft watercolor-style painting, referencing Picasso’s Blue and Rose periods, George Grosz, and Magritte while transforming the mundanity of domestic living into fantastical, allegorical scenes.
NOON Projects | Chinatown
Kristan Kennedy and Marcus Fischer: In Sun
April 17 – May 30, 2026
@noonprojects
In Sun pairs Kristan Kennedy’s paintings — built through dyeing, staining, and running linen through the washing machine until the work is “believable” — with Marcus Fischer’s modified reel-to-reel sound installations whose tape loops drift from any planned alignment, both artists embracing a sense of unknowability where meaning refuses to fix itself in place.
Abigail Ogilvy Gallery | Arts District, DTLA
Teddy Benfield & Tara Lewis: Cover Story
April 11 – May 30, 2026
@abigailogilvygallery
Cover Story brings together Teddy Benfield and Tara Lewis in an exhibition that reconsiders still life as a site of narrative construction — where objects shift from passive subjects to active agents of meaning, exceeding their function to assert a presence that is cultural, psychological, and affective.
de boer | DTLA
Chelsea Bighorn: A Bead at a Time
April 18 – May 30, 2026
@deboergallery
Deeply informed by her Lakota, Dakota, and Shoshone-Paiute heritage, Chelsea Bighorn’s A Bead at a Time constructs richly layered surfaces that operate between painting and textile — incorporating glass beads, brass sequins, leather, horsehair, and porcupine quills in works that evoke the rhythms and choreography of powwow regalia, translating formative experiences with her grandmother into material form.
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LA Insider is the weekly newsletter that connects you to LA's vibrant art and culture scene. From the Hollywood Hills to downtown, Malibu and beyond, we uncover a curated selection of standout exhibitions, cultural events, and creative experiences that define the City of Angels.
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