Los Angeles based philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad hold what is widely recognised as one of the most important collections of postwar and contemporary art in the world, comprised of 2,000 works by some 200 artists and still growing. Driven to make their works broadly accessible to the public, the couple commissioned
the Broad Museum in downtown L.A., neatly settled between
Frank Gehry‘s Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
The Broad museum’s third-floor galleries with skylights and interior veil; photo by Iwan Baan, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Downtown Los Angeles has experienced a rapid turnaround from being a largely neglected expanse of empty car lots, abandoned office space and failed businesses to a centre for the arts, humming with creativity and innovation. The opening of the Broad has brought local and international attention to downtown with a vigor and breadth of appeal that continues to buoy the city’s revival.
The Broad museum’s lobby with escalator; photo by Hufton + Crow, courtesy of The Broad and Diller Scofidio + Renfro
The museum, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, opened to the public on Sept. 20, 2015. Despite being free entry, tickets to the museum remain so popular, registrations are sold out months in advance.
With its innovative “veil-and-vault” concept, the 120,000-square-foot, USD$140-million building features two floors of gallery space to showcase The Broad’s comprehensive collection and is the headquarters of The Broad Art Foundation’s worldwide lending library.
Jasper Johns, Flag, 1967, encaustic and collage on canvas (three panels), 33 1/2 x 56 1/4 in., Art © Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
The Broad collection includes the largest group in the world of Cindy Sherman works, the largest of Jeff Koons, the largest collection of Roy Lichtenstein works outside the Lichtenstein Foundation, the only near complete group of the 570 work multiples of Joseph Beuys in the Western United States, and one of the most significant groups of Christopher Wool paintings.
It is absolutely worth the flight.
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, 2013, wood, metal, glass mirrors, plastic, acrylic panel, rubber, LED lighting system, acrylic balls, and water, 113 1/4 x 163 1/2 x 163 1/2 in., © Yayoi Kusama, Courtesy of David Zwirner, N.Y.
