Los Angeles
December 7, 2022 This month’s list features exhibitions that focus on the body or its absence. These include the Hammer’s survey of vivid, figurative works by Bob Thompson, Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg’s fantastical installations exploring motherhood and birth, and Aimee Goguen’s gloopy sculptures and visceral performance videos at JOAN. On the flip side, Another World at LACMA highlights the Transcendental Painting Group, whose non-objective abstractions were portals to the spiritual realm. — Matt Stromberg View the full list of recommendations this month. Become a member today to help keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all. Become a Member HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK Alonzo Davis: The Blanket Series
Nov. 12–Dec. 17
Parrasch Heijnen, 1326 South Boyle Avenue, Boyle Heights (parraschheijnen.com) The Blanket Series showcases a body of work that Davis produced between the 1970s and 1990s. Woven from strips of paper and canvas, these layered works juxtapose colored shapes and symbols, referencing both the African-American quilting tradition as well as the history of geometric abstraction. Aimee Goguen, Mountain of the Collapse
Oct. 8–Dec. 17
JOAN, 1206 Maple Avenue, Suite 715, Downtown (joanlosangeles.org) Through video, animation, sculpture, drawing, and painting, Aimee Goguen explores both bodily and urban decay with campy glee, reveling in decomposing ooze, discarded toys, and other unsightly messes. MORE ON HYPERALLERGIC If there is an object you have ever desired in your life, rest assured that someone in the advertising industry made money convincing you of exactly that. | AX Mina Objects of Desire: Photography and the Language of Advertising
Sept. 4–Dec. 18
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Miracle Mile (lacma.org) An egregious “anti-woke” billboard erected in Los Angeles attempts to sow division among Latino/a/x communities. | Matt Stromberg | 