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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art this spring unveiled the David Geffen Galleries, a 110,000-square-foot, single-level concrete-and-glass building designed by Pritzker-winner Peter Zumthor in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Funded in part by a $150 million gift from David Geffen, the 900-foot-long structure curves above Wilshire Boulevard and emphasizes light, permeability and a non-hierarchical flow.
LACMA director Michael Govan and 45 curators organized the inaugural installation around bodies of water (Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Mediterranean), mixing ancient and contemporary works and commissioning new pieces by artists including Stephanie H. Shih and Lauren Halsey.
Site-specific elements include transparent chrome curtains by Reiko Sudō and a plaza intervention by Mariana Castillo Deball.
Early reviews from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and travel press praise the building’s daring rethinking of museum narratives and immersive qualities, while noting practical issues: visitor disorientation, navigation challenges and questions about displaying light-sensitive works in a luminous environment.
The galleries open to the public May 4, 2026.
🔗 Based On
Los Angeles TimesGetting lost in the art is the best part of LACMA's new revisionist fever dream of a museum
The New York TimesInside LACMA’s Eye-Popping New Home, How Do You Find the Art?
Travel + Leisure: Travel Reviews, News, Guides & TipsThis New Art Museum in Los Angeles Feels More Like Exploring the City Than Hopping Through Galleries•

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