Stare into infinity at the Broad
Infinity Mirror Rooms, in three words. Two of Yayoi Kusama's immersive, mirror-filled rooms are featured in downtown's perennially well-liked modern art museum (one that you merely peek into, another more immersive one that you step into). The free museum also houses the 2,000 post-war works owned by Eli and Edythe Broad, including pieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Jeff Koons. Otium, the museum's trademark restaurant from former French Laundry chef Timothy Hollingsworth, is located in front of a gorgeous olive tree grove in the plaza outside the building.
The museum has been a fascinating addition to Los Angeles's collection of institutions, even though at times its exhaustive survey of expensive gallery prizes can feel a bit too secure (with some spectacle pieces mixed in). The gallery experience is enjoyable, but the vault and veil design looks much heavier and more opaque than it should. However, there is one design feature that we absolutely adore: the window that spans two stories and provides a glimpse into the collection storage.
A debut show at The Broad in 2015 included works by Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Barbara Kruger, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, and other 20th-century rock icons, along with a ton of Jeff Koons. The Visitors, a stunning nine-screen video installation by Ragnar Kjartansson, and Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room, which featured an unending field of LEDs, were two standout installations.
