Mario Vargas Llosa dies at 89: Nobel laureate from Peru was the last of ‘El Boom’ novelists
Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel literature laureate and a giant of Latin American letters for decades, has died, his son said Sunday.
Cheech Marin: Chicano art impresario (yes, that Cheech Marin)
In 2022, the Riverside Art Museum opened the doors to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, which showcases pieces from Marin’s collection.
Mia Lehrer: Designer making beauty out of blight
Few are the corners of L.A. that don’t bear the imprint of Studio-MLA, the landscape architecture firm founded by the energetic Mia Lehrer three decades ago.
How architect Frederick Fisher is helping transform L.A.’s Natural History Museum
Architect Frederick Fisher has worked on cultural projects that include the Getty Villa, the Huntington and MoMA PS1. Now his studio is helping refresh the Natural History Museum.
A goodbye to The Times and a thank you to readers
In 10 years at The Times, I have gotten to immerse myself in a vibrant artistic community that belies every trope about a culture-less L.A.
Frida Kahlo’s story has been told and retold. A new doc captures the voice of the Mexican painter
Frida Kahlo’s story has been told and retold, but there are still pieces left to divulge, as evidenced in the new Prime Video documentary ‘Frida.’
How Mellon chief Elizabeth Alexander (and $500 million) changed the nature of the monuments we revere
Thanks to Elizabeth Alexander, the Mellon has committed $500 million to preserve, relocate and generate discussion about monuments — and it’s changing the nature of monuments.
Architecture in 2024 Oscar best picture nominees careens from fantasy to willful ignorance
‘Barbie’ and ‘Poor Things’ use architecture to conjure fantastical worlds. In ‘The Zone of Interest,’ it channels the banality of evil.
New York Review of Architecture goes West with special issue devoted to L.A.
Architecture criticism is not dead yet. The New York Review of Architecture turns its eye to L.A. — from cemetery design to the rising Lucas Museum.
Julio Torres survived the visa office and the art world. His first film skewers both
The actor-comedian’s first feature film, ‘Problemista,’ draws inspiration from his own byzantine immigration experience as well as surrealist paintings.
Ed Templeton’s photographs capture the mayhem and exhilaration of life as a pro skater
Ed Templeton’s photos from his time as a pro skateboarder also record poignant moments of friendship, love and loneliness — not to mention broken bones.
Art about AIDS has often depicted grief. L.A. painter Joey Terrill made it about life
L.A. artist Joey Terrill’s vibrant canvases, on view at Marc Selwyn Fine Art, chronicle intimate moments of queer Chicano life: heartbreak and love and life with HIV.
L.A. joins ranks of cities with ‘ghost towers’ with graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza
Decaying high-rises in L.A. — as well as Pyongyang and Caracas — represent the limitations of technology and grand building schemes.
How the ‘cool aunties’ of pop culture flout the growing restrictions imposed on women
At a time in which women’s bodily autonomy is constricted, the ‘cool auntie’ offers a model of glamorous independence — and a counter to the ‘tradwife.’
Netflix’s ‘Griselda’ channels ’70s excess — with a cameo by the L.A. Times building
Architect William Pereira’s 1973 Times Mirror building in downtown L.A. makes a special appearance in Netflix’s ‘Griselda’ as a signifier of cocaine excess.
Two Chilean films depict Tierra del Fuego’s brutal colonization — and with it, art’s role
‘The Settlers’ and ‘White on White’ explore the role of film and photography in a brutal era of South American history.
How art conservators fix artistic treasures that may seem beyond repair
A book and a preservation effort at the Getty put a lens on conservation. Plus, a Black stage actor sues for discrimination, in our weekly arts newsletter
AI is making mincemeat out of art (not to mention intellectual property)
AI is swallowing art — high and low — whole. Plus: a shocking turn in a Nazi-looting case and challenging gender in dance, in our weekly arts newsletter
This L.A. flash-fiction star thinks novels are ‘saggy.’ Her own debut proves her wrong
The debut novel ‘Dead in Long Beach, California,’ is a sharp, dazzling turn for Compton-raised author Venita Blackburn, who made her name with lightning-fast fiction.
How two L.A. art exhibitions tweak colonialism’s gaze
Work by Carolyn Castaño and a show inspired by cabinets of curiosities offer subversive delights. Plus, art at the Huntington and the Cheech, in our arts newsletter
Two exhibitions — at VPAM and the Cheech — put Chicanx bodies front and center
Work by Teddy Sandoval at VPAM and a multigenerational exhibition at the Cheech dig into queerness, gender and the politics of the body.
COVID-19 kept us apart. How two New York performance spaces are bringing us back together
Perelman PAC and Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall — New York performance spaces addressing intricate technical needs — are uniting artists and audiences.
With an opera and a ballet, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera ruled 2023 L.A.
A visually striking opera about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Plus the art of WWI and stained glass in honor of civil rights, in our weekly arts newsletter
Artist Kerry James Marshall’s National Cathedral windows honor the light of protest
New stained glass by Marshall in honor of peaceful protest — along with a poem by Elizabeth Alexander — replace a 1950s tribute to Confederate generals
Simone Leigh’s L.A.-bound sculptures, now in D.C., are stirring and elegant
The Hirshhorn presents work from Simone Leigh’s acclaimed Venice Biennale installation. Plus, Aubrey Plaza takes the stage off-Broadway, in our arts newsletter