A recent tour to LA for a European museum patrons group included valuable special access to artists’ studios and collectors’ homes.
The breath-taking studio of Sterling Ruby, one of America’s most successful contemporary artists, covers over 4 acres with 122,000 sq. ft of workshops and exhibition space, housing Ruby’s monumental sculptures, fashion design studio, kilns and colossal installations. At Thomas Houseago’s studio, the artist gave us a preview of the towering sculpture which will sit outside the renovated Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
One evening, we made our way up to a mid-century modern home in Beverley Hills to explore a private collection which includes works by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Louise Bourgeois, Donald Judd and countless others. Close by we visited another stellar private collection, in a remarkable contemporary home built into the hill, with a collection that included four Picasso paintings, four Mark Rothko paintings, and a sculpture garden with works by Calder and Miro framing the views over Los Angeles.