Hidden Narratives brings together a selection of recent acquisitions from LACMA’s growing collection of modern and contemporary art. Though the works on view were made decades apart by artists of different backgrounds, they nevertheless share certain conceptual and formal concerns. The featured artists communicate narratives in artistic mediums ranging from painting to sculpture, from film to mixed media, and through both abstract and figurative means. The stories they relay remain enigmatic, allowing viewers to interpret the works through the lens of their own experiences.

Many of these artists explore language as an artistic medium or conceptual framework, as seen in works by Jesse Howard, Joseph Kosuth, Los Carpinteros, Alexis Smith, and Lawrence Weiner. Others foreground the body, considering its capabilities and limits, and the stories it might mask or expose; this interest in physicality is evident in pieces by Bas Jan Ader, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Ken Price, Dorothea Tanning, and Idelle Weber. Whether focusing attention on the artists’ personal beliefs and experiences, on shared cultural narratives, or on the overlooked, the works included in this exhibition illuminate the times in which they were made while also resonating in the present day.


Idelle Weber, Jump Rope, 1967-68, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of the 2016 Collectors Committee (M.2016.143). © Idelle Weber. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

As part of the multisite project A Universal History of Infamy, LACMA presents an exhibition curated by artist and educator Vincent Ramos at the museum's satellite gallery within Charles White Elementary School. By displaying works by contemporary Latino artists, writers, and activists exploring loss, resilience, and the political potential of poetic expression alongside several pieces from LACMA’s collection, Ramos exposes a shared impulse across generations to use art as a powerful method of resistance.

Artists in the exhibition include Isabel Avila, Raul Baltazar, Roberto Chavez, Victor Estrada, Carlee Fernandez, Devyn Galindo, Héctor García, Jacinta González, Raul Guerrero, Fred Lonidier, Maria de Los Angeles, Yvette Mayorga, Delilah Montoya, Jorge Orozco Gonzalez, Monique Prieto, Betsabeé Romero, Peter Saul, Fritz Scholder, Rufino Tamayo, Teresita de la Torre, Patricia Valencia, Linda Vallejo, Emmett Walsh, and Max Yavno.

Contributing writers: Rocio Carlos, Sesshu Foster, Carribean Fragoza, and Stephanie Guerrero.

Charles White Elementary School opened in 2004 on the former campus of Otis College of Art and Design. The school is named for artist Charles White (1918–1979), who taught at Otis for many years. LACMA has been programming exhibitions at the school since 2007.

Public Hours: Open Saturdays, 1–4 pm. Enter the gallery at the corner of Park View and Wilshire Boulevard.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Major support is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.

This project is supported by a generous grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding provided by the AMA Foundation, the Pasadena Art Alliance, and the Wallis Annenberg Director's Endowment Fund. 

All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Kitzia and Richard Goodman, with generous annual funding from Lauren Beck and Kimberly Steward, the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Jenna and Jason Grosfeld, The Jerry and Kathleen Grundhofer Foundation, David Schwartz Foundation, Inc., Taslimi Foundation, and Lenore and Richard Wayne.

Image: Devyn Galindo, We Are Still Here, 2017, © Devyn Galindo 2017, photo courtesy of the artist