By Michele Stueven
Copyright laweekly
Tavares Strachan’s The Day Tomorrow Began will open at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday, Oct. 12, marking the artist’s first major museum exhibition in Los Angeles. Introducing more than 20 new works, including Strachan’s most expansive neon piece and one of his largest sculptures to date, the multi-sensory exhibition spotlights the artist’s excavation of histories that have been rendered invisible within mainstream narratives, particularly in relation to the Black diaspora.
Weaving together sculpture, painting, text, and music, The Day Tomorrow Began transports visitors to unique environments ranging from uncanny everyday spaces to surreal landscapes. In these immersive spaces, Strachan invites his audience to rethink how we represent and discuss history.
Encyclopedia of Invisibility (2018) is Strachan’s take on the Britannica encyclopedia. With more than 2,000 pages and a collection of over 17,000 entries, this artwork relays information about people, places, events, and stories that the artist feels have been rendered “invisible” in mainstream narratives.
ENOCH (2018) and Robert (2018) highlight the artist’s longstanding engagement with space exploration, and in particular the story of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first Black astronaut in the United States. ENOCH, a canopic jar that features a sculpted portrait of the astronaut, emerged from the artist’s participation in LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab, presented by Hyundai Motor, through which he collaborated with SpaceX to launch this artwork into orbit around Earth.
A new large-scale neon meditates on two quotes from American authors and thinkers, James Baldwin and Mark Twain. Mirroring each other, both excerpts address our aspirational impulses and the possibility of recognizing our own potential and shared humanity.
A collection of new bronze sculptures addresses the form and the role of public monuments, not only asking who we choose to commemorate, but also interrogating our broader impulse to laud individual figures. The series installation includes Flip Monument (Christophe x Napoleon)(2025), a towering 16.5-foot-tall resin icon engineered specifically for LACMA’s galleries.
Catalina Museum for Art & History’s End of Summer Party returns on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Avalon. The Caribbean-themed celebration will feature live steel drum music, catering by Avalon Smokehouse, craft cocktails, and a silent auction, all benefiting the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs.
This year’s event honors Dr. Richard Denney, Catalina Island’s longtime veterinarian, celebrated for his decades of service to both residents and wildlife. A graduate of Texas A&M’s Veterinary Medical School and founder of Avalon’s Animal Clinic in Catalina, Dr. Denney is known by many as the “Modern Day St. Francis of Assisi.”
Individual tickets are $200 for museum members and $250 for not-yet-members, with proceeds directly benefiting the museum’s mission.
The museum recently announced the upcoming Catalina Story Project Film Premiere: Dr. Denney – Island Vet screening on Thursday, Oct. 11, the latest addition to the documentary series chronicling life on Catalina Island. Created by filmmaker and photographer Nick Morrow, the film offers a heartfelt portrait of the veterinarian’s life and work, to be screened outdoors in the Ackerman Family Amphitheater under the stars. The October screening will be free to attend with advance registration.
Tickets are available here.
