{"id":1812330,"date":"2026-03-06T21:28:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1812330"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:28:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:28:41","slug":"michael-govan-discusses-lacmas-720-m-new-building-in-vanity-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1812330","title":{"rendered":"Michael Govan Discusses LACMA\u2019s $720 M. New Building in Vanity Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Govan-WM.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tLos Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan is speaking publicly for the first time about the museum\u2019s long-awaited David Geffen Galleries.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe interview, which went live today, appears in the relaunch of True Colors<\/em>, Vanity Fair<\/em>\u2019s art-world newsletter written by Nate Freeman. The newsletter will now land in inboxes weekly on Fridays with interviews, art-market intelligence, and dispatches from across the art world.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe debut edition features Govan discussing the museum\u2019s controversial new building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, a $720 million structure set to open to the public next month after years of construction, debate, and rising costs.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the interview, Govan framed the project as an attempt to rethink the role of the museum in the 21st century:<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe project has been one of the most closely watched museum construction efforts in the US in recent years. Critics have questioned both the demolition of several earlier LACMA buildings and the design of the new structure, which spans Wilshire Boulevard and introduces a single-floor layout of 347,500 square feet of gallery space.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Govan, the project represents a rare opportunity to rethink how encyclopedic museums present the story of art.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe design aims to move away from traditional museum hierarchies that separate artworks strictly by geography or chronology, encouraging visitors instead to encounter objects from different cultures and eras in closer proximity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe building has also required extensive engineering to account for Los Angeles\u2019s seismic conditions.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe massive concrete structure sits on base isolators designed to allow it to move during earthquakes, a feature intended to help protect both the architecture and the museum\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n

\n\tGovan has faced years of criticism over the project, particularly regarding the demolition of existing buildings and the rising cost of construction. The design itself has drawn pointed commentary from critics, some of whom likened the undulating structure to everything from an airport terminal to an amoeba.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Govan suggested that strong reactions are inevitable when cultural institutions undertake projects of this scale.<\/p>\n

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\n\tHe also indicated that the museum chose not to aggressively counter criticism as the project developed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNo, no, let people get\u00a0invested<\/em>,\u201d Govan said, recalling discussions with the museum\u2019s public relations team about how to respond to the controversy and the idea that \u201ceveryone should be on [the museum\u2019s] side.<\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere in the interview, Govan emphasized that the building was conceived specifically for Los Angeles and its cultural landscape.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLA\u2019s the place to try it, I don\u2019t think you could have done this in, even, Chigaco, or Cincinatti.\u201d he said of the experimental design approach behind the museum.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the David Geffen Galleries open next month, the museum will host a series of events including galas and concerts, as well as large-scale installations featuring works from LACMA\u2019s collection that had been off view during construction.<\/p>\n

Vanity Fair<\/em>\u2018s Spring issue, on newsstands March 31, will feature exclusive photographs of the new museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Govan-WM.jpg?w=1024″] Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan is speaking publicly for the first time about the museum\u2019s long-awaited David Geffen Galleries. The interview, which went live today, appears in the relaunch of True Colors, Vanity Fair\u2019s art-world newsletter written by Nate Freeman. The newsletter will now land in inboxes weekly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1812330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1812330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812330\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1812330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1812330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1812330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}