Arts

The 2024 edition of So Cal’s landmark arts event, PST ART (previously Pacific Standard Time) has arrived with 800+ artists and 70+ exhibitions under one sure-to-dazzle theme: Art & Science Collide. A Getty initiative launched in 2019, this PST is the third edition of one of the most expansive art events in the world, and the first to set aside art history – specifically LA’s – in favor of this broader theme.  Broad can also describe the diverse organizations and destinations activating exhibitions from greater LA down to San Diego on topics including AI, environmental justice and Indigenous sci fi, with some on display well into 2025.  Deciding what to see will be its own artistic challenge, but a few that caught my fancy include Olafur Eliasson’s site specific exhibition OPEN at MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary which uses large scale optical devices to reflect the architecture of the building in relation to the atmosphere of the city, combining for a unique sensory experience; Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s A MATERIAL ODYSSEY at the USC Pacific Asia Museum where the artist uses pyrotechnics from volatile material like gunpowder to create paintings, drawings and ecologically conscious “explosion events”; and WORLD WITHOUT END: THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER PROJECT at the California African American Museum which dives in to the fascinating life, art and work of this agricultural pioneer, showcasing his art alongside his lab equipment. With so many fascinating options and opportunities, do make time to plan and plot your own course.

For details, click here.

Two new exciting exhibitions are coming to the Academy Museum this fall! Whether your tastes run dark and gritty or animated and fun, there’s something for everyone.

Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema and Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema are both opening this month. Cyberpunk deals with technological advances set against the backdrop of urban decay, a concept that feels all too familiar in today’s world. The Academy Museum will host a collection of props, costumes, concept art, and other production materials until April 12, 2026. Color in Motion showcases the scientific advancements that made color possible and the psychological impact on viewers and how filmmakers use color as a storytelling tool.

The Pixar Toy Story 3D Zoetrope (a fan favorite!) is also returning this month to the museum. A zoetrope is a spinning wheel of objects or art that creates an animated sequence of movement when viewed with the naked eye, similar to the concept of a flipbook. This zoetrope features characters from iconic Pixar movie Toy Story, and will be viewed for the first time next to the concept on which it was based: a historical “Wheel of Life” zoetrope from the 19th century. This exhibition will be on display until July 2025.

For tickets and more details, click here.

Diane von Furstenberg may be best known for her iconic wrap dress, which turns 50 this year. Across the decades and evolving with trends, her signature wrap remains a classic, global fashion statement.

Few may know her as a pioneer in a male-dominated industry, where she created and built a multi-million-dollar fashion empire. Von Furstenberg was a visionary who challenged the status quo at the time. The child of a Holocaust survivor, her story, accomplishments and impact are inspirational. Also, a philanthropist, Diane von Furstenberg established the DVF Awards with the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation in 2010 to honor and empower women leaders worldwide.

The Skirball Cultural Center honors the fashion icon with Diane von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion. The exhibit celebrates the wrap dress and explores the designer’s life through a biography-like journey. The retrospective also shares von Furstenberg’s history and life through her archives, interviews, essays and other artifacts. These elements shed light on some of the influences in her life and work.

This presentation marks the North American debut of the exhibit initially created and developed by the Fashion & Lace Museum in Brussels, where the designer was born. It includes her artwork, fabric swatches, media pieces and over 50 designs.

A must-see event for lifelong fans and those just learning about her, the exhibit opens on October 17, 2024.

For more details, click here.

The Orange County Museum of Art – in its beautiful “home” on the Segerstrom Center campus in Costa Mesa — has a history of discovering, presenting and preserving the art of our time. Since its founding as a small art gallery in 1962, OCMA has presented the voices and work of influential artists and creative thinkers through ground-breaking exhibitions and programs. Three exhibitions on display now through the new year surely exemplify this mission. Chris Burden: A Tale of Two Cities features over a thousand toys set on a sand base to create two miniature city-states poised for war. Through building “a model of the modern world,” Burden highlights how playthings can mirror and critique the structures and ideologies that govern our lives. Deux Femmes brings together a collection of work by artists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington who both lived in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s and engaged with Surrealism, the literary and artistic movement that explored the workings of the mind, championing the irrational, the poetic and the revolutionary. The sculptures in Liz Larner’s Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean are part of a multi-venue exhibition for PST ART: Art & Science Collide, featuring 21 artists examining the causes and ongoing effects of the cultural and environmental devastation of the Pacific Ocean, harnessing art’s potential to enact positive change. General admission is free and the museum is open Wednesday – Sunday.

For more information, click here.