Hammer to Survey Huguette Caland, Mavis Pusey
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| Huguette Caland, Appleton I, 2009. Private collection. (c) Estate of Huguette Caland |
The Hammer Museum has announced retrospectives of trending women abstractionists Huguette Caland (1931–2019) and Mavis Pusey (1928–2019). Both are traveling shows accompanied by a catalog.
Born in Lebanon and long resident in Los Angeles, Caland was featured in the Hammer's 2016 biennial. "Huguette Caland: A Life in a Few Lines," an exhibition of some 200 objects, appeared in Madrid and Hamburg. The Hammer will be its only U.S. venue (Sep. 27, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2027).
Pusey was born in Jamaica and active internationally. "Mavis Pusey: Mobile Images" debuted at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia. It runs Oct. 11, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2027, at the Hammer and will travel to the Studio Museum in Harlem.
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| Mavis Pusey, Dancers, no date. Private collection. (c) Estate of Mavis Pusey |
Comments
> announced retrospectives of
> trending women
> abstractionists
Calls to mind the category of so-called elite compared with so-called populist. Or the Hammer's upcoming temporary show versus what will be in the Lucas Museum.
There's a lot of skill and talent out there - past and present - so gatekeepers of culture and museums have a lot of influence in what (or who) is put in the to-do pile, who's put in the rejection pile.
Art museums in LA, including the Getty, have long had annual attendance figures that are surprisingly anything but SRO. In comparison, the Louvre in Paris generates crowds reminiscent of those in Orlando, Florida. In turn, the Hammer and MOCA are more like just the opposite.
I recall a writer in Northern Calif years ago saying that people in the LA area (including presumably tourists too) were not as much into the visual arts as they could be or were elsewhere.
As for Caland and Pusey (or Yoko Ono), etc, they're not necessarily must-see. And I don't see any upcoming shows for the Broad, MOCA, LACMA and the Getty (of course, soon going down for renovation) that are all that different.
The Simon lists an upcoming loan of a Manet, but that's not exactly like the Met's show on Raphael---which involves *several* canvases. The nearby Huntington has temp shows that make me think of, "a de facto museum of contemporary art, but frankly...not a very good one."
The Lucas Museum - whether treacle or not - is going to have to do all the heavy lifting.