Marciano Art Foundation sets L.A. museum opening date for May

Feb. 23, 2017 5 AM PT

The Marciano Art Foundation has announced the opening date for its new contemporary art museum: May 25.

The museum, from Guess cofounders Paul and Maurice Marciano, will be in a landmark Millard Sheets-designed building, a former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard near Koreatown. It will show painting, sculpture and photography along with installation, performance and multimedia works. Many of the works will be site-specific commissions responding to the building, whose renovations are being steered by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY Architecture.

“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 said via email. “We hope you will be just as excited when you discover Marciano Art Foundation.”

Like the Broad museum in downtown L.A. and the Hammer in Westwood, the Marciano museum will be free. Visitors will have to make reservations on the museum’s website for timed admission slots. The museum will be open to the public Thursdays through Sundays, and Wednesdays will be reserved for school groups.

The 1,500-object collection includes work by established and mid-career artists such as Mark Grotjahn, Sterling Ruby, Paul McCarthy, Takashi Murakami and Mike Kelley as well as young or emerging artists such as Analia Saban, Oscar Tuazon and Danh Vō. The museum will present thematic exhibitions from its permanent collection as well as special exhibitions.

Jamie G. Manné will serve as museum deputy director. The inaugural installation, “Unpacking: The Marciano Collection,” was curated by former MOCA senior curator Philipp Kaiser. It explores themes including the post-Pop movement and the idea of “artists as archaeologists,” Manné said.

When it opens, the museum also will present “Jim Shaw: The Wig Museum,” the artist’s first West Coast solo show of old and new works.