On Oct. 5, the Hammer Museum at UCLA opened the seventh edition of its acclaimed biennial, “Made in L.A.”, which has become one of the most influential exhibitions of contemporary art in the United States. The biennial highlights the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area, with an emphasis on emerging and under-recognized artists. “Made in L.A. 2025“ features 28 participants working across many disciplines—film, painting, theater, choreography, photography, sculpture, mixed-media installation, sound, and video—and is organized by Essence Harden and Paulina Pobocha.
As a companion to Made in L.A. 2025,?the Hammer presents?Alake Shilling’s “Buggy Bear Crashes Made in L.A. (2025),” a?towering 25-foot inflatable sculpture?produced in partnership with the Art Production Fund.
The artwork will occupy the museum’s outdoor sculpture pedestal at Wilshire Boulevard and Glendon Avenue throughout the run of “Made in L.A. 2025,” which closes March 1.
Hammer Museum Director Zoë Ryan said, “Over the last 13 years, “Made in L.A.” has become an essential platform for demonstrating the breadth and depth of the arts communities that make up Los Angeles. This exhibition is an opportunity to showcase these brilliant artists and create a moment for Angelenos to come together and celebrate the creative excellence that originates from this city.”
In a joint statement, curators Harden and Pobocha said, “From the start, we intended to remain open to the artists and their processes, allowing the exhibition to unfold through their ideas rather than a predetermined theme. The result is an exhibition shaped by the asymmetries of Los Angeles itself—its dissonances and resonances, its contradictions and kinships, its capacity to reinvent while holding fast to history.”
The exhibition comprises mostly new works created directly in artists’ L.A. studios and offers insight into one of the most dynamic and energetic art communities in the world. Harden and Pobocha spent nearly a year visiting studios, artist-run venues, commercial galleries, and museums across Los Angeles County. Their final selection brings together artists of different generations and disciplines whose work engages Los Angeles as a dialogical site, where the city’s geography and layered histories serve as catalysts for creation.
“The exhibit wouldn’t have completely come together the way it did without the help of Hammer art director Michael Knock and Michael Herzado as they literally set the stage to display all the artist’s work throughout the museum,” Essence said. “Despite the diversity, the artist and their work correlate in one way or another, not by design, but through the connection of reflecting the city of Los Angeles. While we started the mission with no ideas, you will see that the exhibits are brimming with many depth-worthy pieces.”