Through a combination of conceptual and intuitive operations, Alexandra Grant transforms chosen texts into patterns of color, shape, and form, giving them new life. Her collaborations with Michael Joyce, the renowned hyper-fiction writer, and the writings of theorist, novelist, and academic Hélène Cixous inspired Grant to create The Ladder Quartet, a series of four large-scale drawings that become word-scapes or landscapes of language.
Begun in 1992, the original Focus Series (1992–1998) was dedicated to presentations of distinct bodies of work by artists working in all media and featured a roster of distinguished local and international artists.
The Focus Series quickly became core to the museum's mission and identity as the artist's museum. Over a subsequent three-year period in the mid-2000s, the series was revived briefly but powerfully, featuring primarily LA-based artists and representing the first LA museum exhibition for artists including Eric Wesley (2006), Lecia Dole-Recio (2006), Alexandra Grant (2007), and Sterling Ruby (2008).