On September 20, the Broad Museum, a new contemporary art museum, opened its doors in downtown Los Angeles. The museum features paintings, prints, sculptures and installations by over 60 artists including well-known painters and printmakers like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Ed Ruscha.
Owned by wealthy philanthropists, Eli and Edythe Broad, the museum features many works from their private collection of nearly 2,000 pieces. Organized through the Broad Art Foundation, the Broads regularly lend their artwork to museums across the globe. The founders hope the museum will revitalize the Arts Corridor and surrounding areas.
Constructed by world-renowned architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensle, the three-story building is 50,000 feet housed within a white, honeycomb-like structure that allows the perpetual sunlight of Los Angeles to be as much of a component as the lighting of a photograph. The Broad is a stunning addition to what has been called the Grand Avenue Arts Corridor. The museum is located near the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) as well as the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Eleven Warhol pieces are showcased on the museum’s top floor where natural sunlight is filtered in through the ceiling and exterior walls. As part of the inaugural installation, featured works by Warhol include Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot), Single Elvis (Ferus Type), Twenty Jackies, and two Marilyns. Two stories beneath the artist’s iconic pieces of Pop Art are contemporary works that continue to challenge and redefine what constitutes art. Included is the Infinity Mirror Room by another artist, Yayoi Kusama, a chamber presenting an array of blinking, multi-colored lights reflecting infinitely along the mirrored walls.
Los Angeles has not seen the establishment of a brand new museum since the introduction of MOCA in 1979. The Broads, who will continue to contribute artworks to other museums, wanted to establish a place where artwork is available to the public with the freedom to include works at their own discretion. They intended the museum to be a gift to the city of Los Angeles.
Visitors and Los Angeles natives can view works by Warhol and other contemporary artists Tuesday through Sunday. Entry to The Broad Museum is free. Tickets can be reserved online at The Broad.
