Peter Zumthor's David Geffen Galleries at LACMA: A Visionary Architectural Expansion
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is poised to unveil the eagerly awaited David Geffen Galleries, conceived by the distinguished architect Peter Zumthor, in April 2026. This monumental addition signifies the culmination of a two-decade-long institutional evolution, establishing LACMA as a vastly expanded cultural hub. The new structure, an elegant 275-meter arc of glass and concrete, gracefully spans Hancock Park and extends across Wilshire Boulevard, housing an impressive 10,220 square meters of gallery space dedicated to the museum's enduring collection, all elevated nearly nine meters above ground level.
Beneath the soaring exhibition floor, seven distinct pavilions are strategically placed to host educational initiatives, retail outlets, dining experiences, and a theater. The interstitial spaces between these pavilions transform into accessible public areas, including the East West Bank Commons and the W.M. Keck Plaza. Zumthor's architectural vision rejects a prescribed route through the galleries, instead fostering exploration. Natural light floods the perimeter terrace galleries through expansive windows, while interior rooms offer a more subdued ambiance. Tokyo-based designer Reiko Sud's bespoke sputter-plated chrome textile curtains delicately manage illumination for light-sensitive artworks, showcasing a thoughtful integration of functionality and artistic sensibility.
A groundbreaking curatorial approach defines the inaugural exhibition within the David Geffen Galleries. Developed by a team of 45 curators from diverse fields, the installation moves beyond traditional art-historical timelines. Instead, it adopts a geographical framework organized around four major bodies of water: the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic galleries feature independent artistic traditions and the cultural shifts resulting from European encounters with the Americas, including African and Black American textiles, modern Latin American art, 20th-century photography, and American decorative arts. The Pacific galleries delve into Indigenous navigation, imperial expansion, and global trade, displaying Oceanic artifacts, West Mexican and Peruvian ceramics, Spanish American mercantile objects, East Asian blue-and-white porcelain, and California design. The Indian Ocean section highlights a strong collection of South and Southeast Asian sculpture, Indonesian batiks, Kashmir shawls, and the Ardabil Carpet, presented within the context of one of humanity's oldest maritime trade networks. Lastly, the Mediterranean galleries explore shared material and stylistic elements in Islamic and European painting, Syrian decorative arts, Baroque masterworks, and Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities, offering a rich tapestry of cross-cultural connections.
The interior of the building is graced by four significant new commissions, enriching the visitor experience. Near the entrance, Todd Gray's three-dimensional photographic work, 'Octavia's Gaze' (2025), welcomes guests. Do Ho Suh contributes 'Jagyeong Hall, Gyeongbok Palace' (2026), a translucent, full-scale replica of a section of Seoul's primary Joseon royal palace. Lauren Halsey's two pieces—a 10-foot reclining sphinx sculpture and a large-scale wall relief—and Tavares Strachan's bust 'Fulani (A Map of the Crown)' (2024) are thoughtfully placed within the Mediterranean galleries. At the plaza level, the entire 207,000-square-foot ground plane itself becomes a commissioned artwork: Mariana Castillo Deball's 'Feathered Changes,' created in close collaboration with Zumthor, forges a connection between the new structure and the site's historical identity as a marshy ecosystem. Further enhancing the exterior program south of Wilshire Boulevard are Pedro Reyes's 18-foot stone carving 'Tlali' (2026) and Diana Thater's light installation 'Five Days in Claude Monet's Garden' (2026), alongside Jeff Koons's recently acquired 37-foot topiary 'Split-Rocker,' and Tony Smith's monumental 'Smoke' (1967) with a reimagined pool setting for Alexander Calder's 'Three Quintains (Hello Girls)' (1964).
This ambitious project by Peter Zumthor represents a transformative moment for LACMA, not merely as an expansion of physical space, but as a bold reimagining of how art can be experienced and understood. The deliberate choice to organize the inaugural collections around the concept of global oceans underscores a profound commitment to showcasing the interconnectedness of human cultures and artistic expressions across continents and through time. This innovative approach invites visitors to engage with art in a more fluid, thematic way, encouraging deeper reflection on shared histories and diverse perspectives. The integration of contemporary commissioned works further enriches this dialogue, bridging historical narratives with modern artistic voices and reinforcing the museum's role as a dynamic platform for both preservation and innovation. LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries are poised to become a beacon of cultural exploration, fostering a greater appreciation for the vast and varied tapestry of human creativity.