The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles is planning to open A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture in Southern California on June 2, 2013. Funded in part by the Getty Foundation, the show is now in jeopardy of being cancelled.
The Getty provided $445,000 for the exhibition, which is part of the Foundation’s new architecture series “Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.” An exploration of the last 25 years of Los Angeles architecture, A New Sculpturalism was suppose to feature works by Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Michael Maltzan, Barbara Bestor, and a number of young architects. A nearly 300-page exhibition catalogue, co-published by Rizzoli, has already been completed.
Guest curated by Christopher Mount, the former executive director of the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the show may not be fully installed by its opening date. The participating architects have grown wary of the show’s direction and how their works will be presented, which prompted Gehry to withdraw from the show altogether.
The expansive exhibition includes four purpose-built pavilions, which were commissioned from various emerging architecture firms in Los Angeles. There have been some preliminary talks about holding the show later this year.
