As wildfires continue to burn in LA County, killing at least five people and displacing tens of thousands, artists are among those grappling with loss and uncertainty as homes, studios, and decades' worth of art are engulfed by flames.
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 10, 2025

As wildfires continue to burn in LA County, killing at least five people and displacing tens of thousands, artists are among those grappling with loss and uncertainty as homes, studios, and decades' worth of art are engulfed by flames. Hyperallergic spoke to artists who say they're still trying to make sense of the disaster that upended their lives in less than 48 hours. “It’s like history burning," said Kathryn Andrews, remarking on the scale of devastation and the toll on LA's cultural community.

Also, today, we remember Argentinian-born sculptor Raquel Rabinovich, who died at the age of 95. Her stirring abstract works "have the effect of a well-worn memory rubbed away," writes Associate Editor Lisa Yin Zhang.

Critic John Yau on an exhibition of KAWS's art collection, A View From the Easel, Required Reading, and more below.

— Valentina Di Liscia, News Editor

You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a member.

Become a Member

“It Looks Like a Bomb Exploded”: LA Artists Grapple With Loss as Fires Rage

“I literally only have the clothes I’m wearing, but that’s the same story as thousands of others,” artist Amir Nikravan told Hyperallergic. | Valentina Di Liscia, Matt Stromberg, Maya Pontone and Rhea Nayyar

SPONSORED

Tate Online Symposium Presents Visual Arts Research From the Brooks International Fellowship

Showcasing research from across Tate over the past decade, the event on January 22 also considers the broader significance of building an international researcher network.

Learn more

IN THE NEWS

LATEST IN ART

There Are No Art Hierarchies in the KAWS Collection

With over 300 works on paper, plus paintings, sculptures, and furniture, The Way I See It: Selections from the KAWS Collection includes work by artists of every stripe. | John Yau

SPONSORED

The American University of Paris Offers an MFA in Creative Writing With a Global Focus

AUP is home to Europe’s only two-year interdisciplinary graduate program in creative writing, now accepting applications for fall 2025.

Learn more

The Artist Who Ushered Us From Medieval to Modern

Jacopo Ligozzi gave visual expression to the developing myth of empirical objectivity, of being able to successfully collect, measure, analyze, and categorize. | Ed Simon

MORE FROM HYPERALLERGIC

A View From the Easel

“My studio, in a sense, is an escape where I can re-enter my art world and create.” | Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Required Reading

This week: photojournalists amid California’s wildfires, Leonora Carrington in Mexico, Black Philly artists sew reusable pads, an AI lawsuit tracker, and can fiction make men better people? | Lakshmi Rivera Amin

TRANSITIONS

Mario R. Rossero was named director of the Andy Warhol Museum. Read more on Hyperallergic.

Stephen Bron is now represented by Tibor de Nagy gallery.

Katie Hollander was appointed the director of RxART.

Paul Pineau was appointed general counsel and secretary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

María Guadalupe Espinosa Rodríguez was appointed director of the Mexican archaeological site Chichén Itzá.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Tanya Aguiñiga, Ernesto Bautista, Sofía Durrieu, Voluspa Jarpa, Guzmán Paz, and Adán Vallecillo are the participants of the Fundación Ama Amoedo’s 2025 Residency in Casa Neptuna in José Ignacio, Uruguay.

Akron Soul Train, Cornelius Tulloch, and Demario Dotson are among the cohort of the Knight Foundation’s New Work 2024: Akron, Detroit and South Florida grant. See the full list here.

Sarah Waiswa, Nicole Remus, Nafkot Gebeyehu, Wairimũ Nduba, Maria Olivia Nakato, and Turakella Editha Gyindo will participate in the Mentorship Program for East African Curators, co-hosted by the Independent Curators International, Njabala Foundation, and AWARE: ARchives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions.

FEATURED OPPORTUNITY

Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut – Executive Director

MoCA CT seeks a transformational and charismatic leader to chart a strategic path that prioritizes curatorial and operational excellence, a healthy revenue mix, and a marketing strategy to raise the museum’s profile and increase attendance.
mocact.org/careers

See more in this month’s list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers!

MOST POPULAR

  1. Historic Buildings Destroyed in Southern California Blazes

  2. Joseph Beuys Predicted the “Manosphere”

  3. Egon Schiele’s Landscapes Tell a Winter’s Tale

  4. The Eternal Dance of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting

  5. Wax Figure of Benjamin Netanyahu Targeted in Mexico City

You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a member.

Become a Member

View in browser  |  Forward to a friend

This email was sent to newsletter@newslettercollector.com

Update your email preferences


Hyperallergic, 181 N 11th St, Suite 302, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
Click here to stop receiving all Hyperallergic emails.