The Essential Guide to MOCA

For an expansive cultural journey, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), is defined as the only artist-founded institution in Los Angeles with a permanent collection of 7,000 objects and exhibitions spread throughout three locations: MOCA Grand Avenue, Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and MOCA Pacific Design Center. Since 1979, these entities have acquired some of the most important postwar art by Rothko, Warhol, Pollack and notable California artists.

Hotel Figueroa guests can easily navigate to the MOCA Grand Avenue location, where the building designed by Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki, is wrapped in pastel-hued murals by Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Until September 3, 2018, visitors will experience Real Worlds: Brassaï, Arbus, Goldin, an exhibition of 100 works by three photographers who reveal glimpses of nocturnal lifestyles, unsettling portraiture and self- reflection. Additionally, Lauren Halsey: we still here, there, will be available until September 3rd. The site-specific installation takes participants through an immersive archive of the artist’s black cultural experiences from the perspective of her childhood home in South Central L.A.

A short jaunt to the neighboring Little Tokyo unveils the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, an old warehouse that was renovated by legendary architect, Frank Gehry. Available for viewing until May 13, 2018, is Adrián Villar Rojas: The Theater of Disappearance. Through this site-specific exploration, Rojas uses otherworldly sculptures and settings to create a post-human world dominated by technology, that poses the question what will be considered as art in the future.

Affectionately called the “Blue Whale,” the 14-acre Pacific Design Center (PDC) is home to MOCA Pacific Design Center and hundreds of showrooms in West Hollywood. The edifice is recognized for its bright blue glass facade designed by Argentinian architect, Cesar Pelli. Until April 8th, visitors will experience, Welcome to the Dollhouse, which playfully declares and deconstructs notions of domesticity.

As part of your MOCA experience, Hotel Figueroa recommends the following:

• Until September 8, 2018, catch the public conservation of Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionist painting, Number 1, 1949, at MOCA Grand Avenue. A painting’s conservator will work on-site to clean the surface of the piece and answer questions about the process.
• Visit Lemonade while at MOCA Grand Avenue for its namesake beverage or vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu options.
• After an afternoon at MOCA Pacific Design Center, stop in at West Hollywood’s Cecconi’s for the signature black truffle burger that’s only served between the hours of 3-7 PM from Monday – Saturday.

Upcoming at MOCA:
From April 28 – July 15, 2018, MOCA Pacific Design Center will host Décor: Barbara Bloom, Andrea Fraser, Louise Lawler. The exhibition unfolds around Bloom’s The Reign of Narcissism (1988-89), a full-scale, faux-neoclassical period room dedicated to the fictional artist, “Barbara Bloom,” which considers the arrangement of objects and their meaning.

Address:

MOCA Grand Avenue
250 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
www.moca.org

Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
152 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
www.moca.org

MOCA Pacific Design Center
8687 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90069
www.moca.org

Hours:
MOCA Grand Avenue + Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
11 AM to 5 PM, Monday, Wednesday & Friday
11 AM to 8 PM, Thursday
11 AM to 5 PM, Saturday & Sunday
Closed Tuesday

MOCA Pacific Design Center
11 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday through Friday
11 AM to 6 PM, Saturday & Sunday
Closed Monday

Tickets:
MOCA Grand Avenue + Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
$15 for Adults
$10 for Seniors (65+)
$8 Students with ID
Free for 12 & Under
Admission is free every Thursday from 5 – 8 PM

MOCA Pacific Design Center
General admission is free.

Distance from Hotel Figueroa:
MOCA Grand Avenue – 1.1 miles
Geffen Contemporary at MOCA – 2 miles
MOCA Pacific Design Center – 8 miles