The hotly-anticipated Marciano Art Foundation has set May 25 as its official opening date.
“We could not be more excited to welcome the public into our new art space, and to share our love, obsession and curiosity of contemporary art with visitors,” Maurice Marciano told the L.A. Times this morning.
And us, we're also excited for what is shaping up to be the biggest new museum since the Broad.
Backed by brothers Maurice and Paul Marciano, who made their fortune founding the Guess clothing line, Marciano Art Foundation has transformed the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple that sat empty for years on Wilshire Boulevard. When they reveal the results of the three-year renovation by wHY Architecture, art lovers will get the chance to see works from the brothers' collection that have never been publicly displayed, as well as totally new pieces commissioned specifically for the site.
Art has long been a passion for the brothers, particularly Maurice, already well-known in L.A.'s art world for serving as the co-chairman of the board at MOCA. As soon as they started making money from their company, they indulged in their love by collecting pieces that excited them. Ultimately, they amassed more than 1,500 items in their archive, including works from huge artists like Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning and Cindy Sherman, though many younger artists make appearances in the holdings as well.
For the opening, Philipp Kaiser, former senior curator at MOCA, has developed a exhibition that will give an overview of the museum's holdings entitled Unpacking: The Marciano Collection. It will run concurrently with Jim Shaw: The Wig Museum, the first West Coast retrospective of Shaw's work.
With all the museums and galleries already around town, Maurice Marciano knows that he needs his foundation’s home to stand out. “We don’t need another MOCA or Broad or Hammer Museum,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “It has to be different, or why do it?"
The Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation will be located at 4357 Wilshire Blvd.
Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.