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Call it the big reveal. The final phase of the Hammer Museum’s two-decade, $90-million expansion and renovation — designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture — debuts on Sunday. The museum will now have 60% more gallery space, which includes the renovated former City National Bank space next door and an outdoor sculpture terrace.
But the most notable change will be a brand new entrance on the corner of Wilshire and Westwood boulevards, now far more visible to passersby. Not to mention a reimagined, easier-to-navigate lobby. No more wide-eyed, lost-looking visitors stumbling out of the parking garage.
To showcase the new spaces, the museum is presenting several large-scale installations. The lobby will feature an immersive yarn installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota; the bank will house a large-scale installation of lasers and mist, “Particulates,” by Rita McBride; and Sanford Biggers’ 25-foot-tall cast bronze sculpture “Oracle” will stand on the terrace on the corner of Wilshire and Glendon Avenue.
The exhibition “Together in Time: Selections From the Hammer Contemporary Collection” — the largest presentation of the museum’s contemporary collection to date — will fill nearly all the other gallery spaces throughout the museum, exhibiting acquisitions since 2005.
“Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio,” a retrospective of the British artist’s work, and “Cruel Youth Diary: Contemporary Chinese Photography and Video From the Haudenschild Collection,” featuring works from the ’90s and early 2000s by artists such as Cao Fei, Weng Fen and Xu Zhen, will remain on view.
The Times got a sneak peek of the transformed Hammer Museum prior to the opening.
The new Hammer Museum entrance on the corner of Westwood and Wilshire boulevards.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A mural beside the Hammer Museum entrance.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
“The Network” by artist Chiharu Shiota on display in the new lobby of the Hammer.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
“Oracle,” a sculpture by Sanford Biggers, sits in the new terrace outside the main building.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
“Particulates,” a laser art installation by artist Rita McBride, on display in new Hammer gallery space that was previously a bank.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The new Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, a resource for works on paper, at the renovated Hammer Museum.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
