May 31, 2006

Art in LA

Unfairly typecast as a netherworld of escapist entertainment and airbrushed celebrities, Los Angeles has long fought for a legitimate place at the high-culture table. With its visual artists now emerging as global players, and its art schools gaining esteem, LA's moment as an art capital is arriving. To trace the growth of the current scene, we touch on the city's prominent artists and profile the young abstract painter Mark Grotjahn. We interview Ann Philbin, director of UCLA's Hammer Museum, about her transformation of the institution into a cutting-edge source for underground art. The SoCal art journal ANP Quarterly is our media pick this issue, and solo shows of Shahzia Sikander and Abbas Kiarostami round out our survey of current exhibits.