Hammer Museum's Signature Biennial Made in L.A. Returns October 1
Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living Highlights Work by 39 Artists and Collectives

Los Angeles, CA - On October 1 the Hammer Museum will open the sixth edition of its acclaimed biennial Made in L.A., one of the most influential presentations of contemporary art in the United States. Highlighting artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area, Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living will comprise works by 39 intergenerational artists and groups, whose practices embrace craft, materiality, and collectivity. Organized by independent curator Diana Nawi and Hammer curator Pablo José Ramírez with Luce Curatorial Fellow Ashton Cooper, the exhibition is on view through December 31, 2023, and will be accompanied by an array of public programs, including performances, artist talks, screenings, and more. The exhibition is sponsored by Bank of America.

Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin said, “As I think about Acts of Living and look back on past Hammer biennials, I am amazed by the tremendous depth and breadth of our city’s artistic communities. Like each new presentation in the series, this Made in L.A. will be a critical gauge of the extraordinary talent in our city at this moment, and of the urgent ideas and concerns of today’s artists. I am grateful to Diana Nawi and Pablo José Ramírez for bringing together this exciting group of artists and creating this compelling snapshot of contemporary art and communities in Los Angeles.”

The exhibition, which will encompass sculpture, assemblage, painting, drawing, ceramics, performance, and installation, will consider art as an expanded field of culture entangled with everyday life. It takes its title from a statement by the late Noah Purifoy (1917–2004) inscribed on a plaque at the Watts Towers: “One does not have to be a visual artist to utilize creative potential. Creativity can be an act of living, a way of life, and a formula for doing the right thing.”

Pablo José Ramírez said, “Over the course of nearly two hundred studio visits, we traveled from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach to the outer edges of Palm Springs, journeys that brought focus to artistic mediums, intergenerational connections, diasporic histories, and vernacular aesthetics. Being in dialogue with artists in their studios and homes, and all over the city, gave us a richer appreciation for the way that artists address and transform experiences, ideas, and material surroundings drawn from everyday life.”

Diana Nawi said, “Pablo and I were struck by not only the diversity of practices we encountered but also, more profoundly, by the different stakes people expressed for art making. Art has a critical role to play in people’s lives, to their wellbeing and that of their communities; it attests to our existence and allows us a better understanding of one another.”