{"id":273137,"date":"2026-04-17T20:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/273137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T20:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:49:17","slug":"the-10-most-photogenic-things-to-see-at-lacmas-david-geffen-galleries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/273137\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 most photogenic things to see at LACMA\u2019s David Geffen Galleries"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some 2,500 works of art inside and around LACMA\u2019s<\/a> long-awaited new building, the David Geffen Galleries<\/a>. But we wanted to focus on what really matters: which are the most photogenic. You know, so you can prove just how cultured you are with the quintessential souvenir\u2014the perfect photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, LACMA is no stranger to photogenic art. Since it was installed in 2008, Urban Light, a constellation of 202 historic streetlamps along Wilshire, has become one of the most photographed landmarks in L.A. So as a handy guide, we\u2019ve ranked each of these 10 new picks with \u201clightbulb\u201d scores, gauging how they stack up to Urban Light\u00a0in photogenic-ness on a five-point scale.<\/p>\n

Some of\u00a0our picks are longtime LACMA holdings which have been cast in a new light (literally), some are new acquisitions, and some are brand-new works that have been specially commissioned by the museum. And some aren\u2019t even art but rather uniquely \u201cLos Angeles\u201d views and photo ops. (I mean, the LACMA Erewhon just sounds like a punchline from SNL\u2019s \u201cThe Californians.\u201d)\u00a0Note: Keep in mind that, even if these pieces call out to you, you\u2019re still in a world-class museum with priceless art\u2014so no touching.<\/p>\n

Henri Matisse\u2019s La Gerbe\u2014and that view\u00a0
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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The walk up to the very western tip of the David Geffen Galleries is already vying for one of the most breathtaking views in L.A., an impossibly cinematic vantage point that seems to float above the LACMA campus and perfectly frame the prominent bubble of the Academy Museum<\/a> and the hills in the background. That ultrawide window isn\u2019t just for selfies, though: Light floods the lone wall here with Henri Matisse\u2019s La Gerbe (The Sheaf), a 2,000-pound ceramic translation of the artist\u2019s simple-but-boldly colorful paper cut-outs. Formerly consigned to a mezzanine of LACMA\u2019s bygone Ahmanson Building, the luminous installation here channels what it must\u2019ve felt like inside the private Holmby Hills courtyard it was commissioned for in the 1950s. \u2014Michael Juliano<\/p>\n

Tony Smith, Smoke
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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Artist-architect Tony Smith\u2019s geometric, jungle-gym-like sculpture isn\u2019t new to LACMA\u2014it, too, used to reside in the Ahmanson Building, before it was taken apart and rebuilt outside. It now has a new starring role in front of the David Geffen Galleries, where it can be enjoyed even without buying a ticket. The larger-than-life structure stands at 24 feet tall\u2014rivaling Urban Light in size\u2014and serves as a dramatic welcome to the new building. It\u2019s also the perfect focal point for a photograph with the\u00a0swooping roof of the galleries in the background.<\/p>\n

Anything Erewhon
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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When the internet\u2019s peak grocery store status symbol meets the flex of visiting a sure-to-be-trendy museum, you have a recipe to absolutely break the social currency bank. Local luxury grocery store Erewhon has stepped into one of LACMA\u2019s ground-floor dining spaces with coffee, pastries, snacks and, yes, those aesthetically enviable smoothies. During our preview, we were able to sip on a bottle of green juice with both the Erewhon and LACMA logos imprinted along its glass sides. But the eye-catching visuals don\u2019t stop at branding: The cafe sits in the shade of the Peter Zumthor-designed building and next to the playful, kinetic fountains of Alexander Calder\u2019s Three Quintains (Hello Girls). \u2014MJ<\/p>\n

Raymond Loewy, Avanti
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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The David Geffen Galleries have an installation dedicated solely to Car Culture and its significance for California. And parked in the middle of the space is a 1961 Studebaker that\u2019s just asking to be photographed and ogled by car enthusiasts. Master of streamline design Raymond Loewy designed the sports car in Palm Springs to try and aid the failing car manufacturer. Unfortunately that didn\u2019t pan out, but today we can appreciate the vehicle as a design object and important piece of California design. After acquiring it back in 2014, the museum recently restored the Avanti to its original glory\u2014and the result gives the classic cars at Petersen Automotive Museum<\/a> down the block a run for their money. Adding to the photogenic appeal here is a 1954 wire sculpture by Ruth Asawa hanging behind the car.<\/p>\n

View over Wilshire Boulevard
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\nPhotograph: Gillian Glover for Time Out <\/p>\n

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Even if you somehow had no interest in the art inside the David Geffen Galleries, one of the main draws of the new building is the architecture itself. Beyond the curvilinear shape, arguably its distinguishing feature is the way its galleries double as a bridge over Wilshire Boulevard. One moment you\u2019re wandering around, taking in sculptures, and the next you look out the window to find you\u2019re standing above oncoming traffic going down the busy thoroughfare. It\u2019s a surreal experience, and one that has to be seen to be believed\u2014even if that just means you snapping photographic evidence for your followers.<\/p>\n

Pedro Reyes, Tlali
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\nPhotograph: Gillian Glover for Time Out <\/p>\n

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Another new commission for the David Geffen Galleries, Mexico City artist Pedro Reyes\u2019s massive sculpture of a female face both blends into and sticks out against the first-floor wall bordering the new LACMA store. Inspired by Olmec culture and Mother Earth, the work was made out of lava stone and sits against the galleries\u2019 brand-new concrete, seamlessly blending old and new. Even The New York Times<\/a> has called it: \u201cPedro Reyes’s Tlali is an outdoor selfie site.\u201d Depending on your angle, you can also capture the \u201cDavid Geffen Galleries\u201d sign reflected in the gift shop window, completing the tableau.<\/p>\n

Do Ho Suh, Jagyeong Hall, Gyeongbok Palace
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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In the southeast corner of the David Geffen Galleries, you\u2019ll find this imposing yet delicate masterpiece, a new commission from Korean artist Do Ho Suh. A life-size re-creation of a section of the queen\u2019s palace in ancient Seoul, Suh\u2019s work is made entirely with translucent fabric but somehow manages to communicate the ornate details and structure of its inspiration. The light streaming in from the windows interacts with the sheer fabric beautifully, and you\u2019ll wish you could step inside the gauzy ghost palace\u2014but you\u2019ll have to settle for a photo.<\/p>\n

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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You might be surprised that this living sculpture, located on the south side of Wilshire, is from the mind of Jeff Koons. Offering a decidedly different vibe from the artist\u2019s iconic balloon-animal sculptures, this work, a version of which was previously displayed in New York, is more cartoony\u2014part rocking horse and part dinosaur. What you\u2019ll notice first, though, is the 50,000 drought-resistant native SoCal plants that are completely covering the sculpture\u2019s 37-foot-tall head, which have been carefully selected so that it\u2019ll bloom year-round. Its location across the street from the bulk of the museum\u2019s campus means it\u2019s just as accessible to pedestrians as museum visitors\u2014from my perch in the galleries, I saw a passerby stop to snap pics along the sidewalk. Adjacent to Split-Rocker, the museum is opening a new wine bar and 300-seat theater, which will bring even more foot traffic.<\/p>\n

Gregorio Vardanega, Multiplication \u00e9lectronique II
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\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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One of my favorite pieces in the galleries was this motorized grid of black and white lights from 1966, located in a gallery devoted to \u201cTurmoil and Optimism in Latin America.\u201d Within the room of drool-worthy midcentury furnishing, geometric art and a trippy polka-dot mural, there\u2019s a smaller room containing just three kinetic works. All are mesmerizing in their own right, but this satisfying checkerboard-esque square by\u00a0Gregorio Vardanega was attracting the most cameras. It just goes to show that there are artistic treasures around every\u00a0corner (or curve) of the new building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Doorway with Arms of the Counts of Chazay
\n\"David
\nPhotograph: Michael Juliano for Time Out <\/p>\n

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Leah Lehmbeck, LACMA\u2019s curator and department head of European paintings and sculpture and American art, predicts that this medieval French arch will be a prime selfie spot\u2014though she hopes she\u2019s wrong. \u201cI kind of fear that people are going to stand in that doorway,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cPlease don\u2019t do that. Please look at it from afar, no need to stand in it.\u201d Though the stone doorway from an unknown artist dating back to 1500 has already been on display at LACMA previously, Lehmbeck brings up an interesting point about the new space: \u201cThis building allows for a kind of access to artworks, even though many of these things have been uncovered for a long time.\u2026 There\u2019s something about the museum, with the windows and the way in which it\u2019s installed, that makes the objects much more accessible, which is a beautiful thing. [But]\u00a0they feel closer to people, even though they aren\u2019t\u2014they\u2019re in the exact same position they always have been. And the doorway is one of those invitations that feels like, \u2018Oh, this is the perfect place for a selfie.\u2019\u201d So remember, just because you can take the perfect selfie, doesn\u2019t always mean you should.<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Tino Sehgal\u2019s \u201cconstructed situation\u201d<\/p>\n

And lastly,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0one thing you\u2019ll probably be itching to film but can\u2019t. Berlin-based artist Tino Sehgal has created one of his signature \u201csituations\u201d especially for LACMA. This looks like bike riders doing slow-motion wheelies, live violin music wafting throughout the galleries, and a soccer player balancing a ball on his head. At one point, I walked past and all of the piece\u2019s \u201cinterpreters\u201d were lying on the ground while the music played on. At the preview, everyone\u2019s instinct was to begin filming the action, but we were informed that photos and videos weren\u2019t allowed. The situation\u00a0only exists in the moment, so take a seat on one of the surrounding benches and soak in the experience. There aren\u2019t specific performance times\u2014the activation will take place during the museum\u2019s open hours through at least June. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are some 2,500 works of art inside and around LACMA\u2019s long-awaited new building, the David Geffen Galleries.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2308,16553,36732,48,52,51,47,50,49,16554],"class_list":["post-273137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-art","tag-categories-art","tag-contributor-michael-juliano","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-news-art"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}