The Triumphant New LACMA Has the Potential to Rewrite Art History
ARTnews reviews the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which open to members on April 19 and to the public on May 4, as an attempt to present a non-linear, global art history. The one-level building, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, is described as rejecting traditional hierarchies by allowing works from LACMA’s 15 curatorial departments to be shown anywhere, with some cross-department displays and increased visibility for areas such as costumes and textiles. The project culminates a 25-year campus redevelopment, following Renzo Piano’s earlier west-campus buildings (opened more than 15 years ago, adding about 100,000 square feet), and was advanced under director and CEO Michael Govan, who arrived in 2006 and selected Zumthor by 2009. The final cost is reported as $724 million, including about $125 million from Los Angeles County, and the design changes prompted by an environmental report reduced exhibition space by 10% (about 10,000 square feet) compared with what it had before.
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This story was covered in New Museums, Old Wounds: Restitution and Rehangs