The Broad, the contemporary art museum in the heart of Los Angeles, opened its doors to the public on September 20th 205, immediately establishing itself as an attractive architectural landmark in the largest city in the western United States.
Side view of museum.
Founded by philanthropists Edythe and Eli Broad, the Museum hosts more than two thousand works of art from the Broad Collection, considered one of the world’s most impressive pools of postwar art. Eli Broad said this museum represented a way to show gratitude to the city “making art accessible to as many people as possible.”
Located on Grand Avenue and close to the Walt Disney Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, the museum was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro Studio in collaboration with Gensler, at a cost of $140 million. The 120,000-square-foot (36,000 square meters) construction, which includes a restaurant and a community garden, was started 15 years ago. Joanne Heyler, director of the institution, calls the emblematic building “a work of art”.
Edythe and Eli Broad, Founders.
In essence, the museum displays some 250 works by 60 artists— marking a chronological journey through the Broad Collection. The pieces on view range from the 1950s to the 1990s, including works by modern masters such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Social and political art are represented in this unique collection with works such as Your Body is a Battleground by Barbara Kruger, and Robert Longo`s drawings depicting the Ferguson upheaval. Also in the tune of social commentary, the museum boast pieces signed by David Wojnarowicz, Cady Noland, Kara Walker, Anselm Kiefer, and Mike Kelley. One of these pieces deserve a special mention: In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, a 24-meter (75-foot mural) by Takashi Murakami.
The collection contains outstanding examples of urban art created by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Koons. There are also works of the late 20th and early 21st centuries from artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Longo, Ragnar Kjartansson, Glenn Ligon, Andreas Gursky and Julie Mehretu, among others. ■
