Images of an Era: Selections from the Permanent Collection

This exhibition of permanent collection works from the 1940s to the 1970s featured in-depth selections from pivotal points in the careers of major artists. Coinciding with the reopening of The Temporary Contemporary after a three-year hiatus, Images of an Era: Selections from the Permanent Collection was installed throughout the entirety of The Temporary Contemporary, marking the museum’s first full-building presentation of a permanent collection show. The former warehouse’s 18,000 feet of exhibition space were divided into fourteen galleries with works by Arshile Gorky, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Franz Kline, Barry Le Va, Agnes Martin, Claes Oldenburg, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Mark Rothko, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, Andy Warhol, and others, arranged chronologically. Accompanying this presentation were four “context” rooms situating the works in a broader historical context, as well as a reading room designed to resemble a collector’s house. Images of an Era: Selections from the Permanent Collection was organized by Paul Schimmel, Chief Curator, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

The Temporary Contemporary is the original name of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.