Los Angeles' Foremost Contemporary Art Museum
Art and Architecture at Broad Rivals Best in Western United States
Apr 6, 2009
The Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) opened in February 2008. Despite the absence of new acquisitions from blue-chip donors that had been expected to accompany the new museum’s opening, the Broad is nonetheless a star of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 20-acre campus. Not only is its exterior stunning, so are several of the art works inside.
Designed by Renzo Piano, the 72,000 square foot building is constructed of travertine marble, accented with “Renzo Red.” The main entrance -- located on the building’s third floor -- is accessed by an open air elevator. There’s also a huge 30-person elevator located in the building’s core.
The inaugural exhibition, which included 148 works owned by Broad personally or by his foundation, 16 works from LACMA's permanent collection and 14 works borrowed from other collectors ran the gamut from the expected Andy Warhol’s Twenty Jackies to unexpected treats like Wrong by John Baldessari. The painting, which represents a bad photo—there’s a tree growing out of the central figure’s head -- is deadpan humor at its best. New Yorker Jeff Koons was represented by 15 works, including his bright blue balloon dog. Other contemporary works include those by California artists Charles Ray and Robert Irwin.
Other exhibits during the museum’s first year included “Masterworks from the Arts and Crafts Movement,” “Los Angeles-Based Chicano Artists,” and “Construction of Celebrity through the Enduring Portraits of Vanity Fair.”
Each of the building’s levels contains two huge galleries, providing 60,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Broad Museum’s permanent collection of modern art, which includes important paintings and sculptures by such modern masters as Picasso, Matisse and Magritte, contains more than 250 works. Art on loan from private collections also plays an important role in mounting the exhibits.
One of the blue-chip gifts that did come in was $10,000. that was used in the purchase of Richard Serra's 70-footlong steel sculpture Band (2006), now installed on the museum’s first floor. As far as the museum’s outdoor art is concerned, one of its most stunning installations is Urban Light, a sculpture by Chris Burden which incorporates 202 restored cast-iron lampposts from Los Angeles County. Another important work is Tony Smith’s sculpture, Smoke, in the LACMA’s Ahmanson Atrium next to the Broad.
The Broad (pronounced brode) is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, noon-8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Adults, $12; Students and seniors, $8; children under 18, free. Admission is free the second Tuesday of every month, every evening after 5 p.m. and on Target Free Holiday Mondays. Its address is 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with more than 100,000 works spanning the history of art.
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