Curated by: Chon Noriega
Presented by: LACMA & UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

For his new work called “Pyramids,” L.A. artist Gronk will be re-imaging the opera stage he originally designed and painted in 2013 for Peter Sellar’s adaptation of Purcell’s semi-opera “The Indian Queen (1695). That work connected Purcell’s fanciful notions of the Conquest with current issues of immigration and authoritarianism. During the run of the LA Art Show, Gronk will be painting on a full-size mock-up of a theatrical stage, providing visitors with a behind-the-curtain view of his artistic practice as well as of the set making involved in performance and media culture. Unlike a theatrical performance, the set design will be completed only after the exhibition closes and the audience is gone. Rather than see a finished work, visitors will be able to interact with the artist, participating in the process of making a “political theater” for our contemporary moment. Programs will include a dialogue between Gronk and Peter Sellars, and an impromptu performance, both using the theatrical space created by “Pyramids.”