L.A.'s New Cultural Landmarks Defy Gravity

Los Angeles is establishing itself as a global art and design destination with two monumental museum openings. Announced June 23, 2026, the newly expanded Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art are drawing significant attention.

LACMA's latest iteration features Shio Kusaka’s 12-foot-tall aluminum sculpture, a whimsical light beam topped with a clay flying saucer, which Four Seasons Magazine describes as "effortlessly delightful." This piece playfully complements a new building that seems to have materialized from science fiction, despite the familiar ground-level construction delays. The Lucas Museum, opening in September near the University of Southern California, shares a similar futuristic aesthetic, characterized by an array of curves made possible by advanced digital design, as Four Seasons Magazine reports.

Both institutions feature massive, elevated structures, a design choice that enhances seismic safety and creates open pedestrian spaces below. "That was the idea from day one. I want people to experience Los Angeles through the building," LACMA CEO Michael Govan told Four Seasons Magazine, emphasizing a desire for the museum to integrate with the city rather than merely house art. Architect Kulapat Yantrasast further notes in Four Seasons Magazine that these pavilion-like structures, with their encompassing grounds, are uniquely suited to Los Angeles' climate and space, suggesting they would be nearly unimaginable in other major U.S. cities.

The concurrent openings solidify Los Angeles' position as a cultural nexus, capping two decades of explosive growth in its diverse art scene. International galleries such as Hauser & Wirth, Perrotin, and David Zwirner have established outposts in the city. Lisson Gallery is currently hosting Spencer Finch's debut exhibition in Los Angeles, which includes a site-specific light installation running until August 22. Meanwhile, long-standing institutions like the Getty and the Huntington have rebounded from the 2025 fires, emerging more robust than ever.