Image: Hammer Museum, Los Angeles ; Jeff McLane
Lauren Halsey is among nearly 30 artists featured in ‘SPACE IS THE PLACE: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection,’ an exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles that examines space through Afrofuturism, belonging, placemaking, and the act of taking up space. The presentation remains on view through September 6, 2026.
Organized by Erin Christovale, curator, with Azul Silverio, curatorial assistant, the exhibition brings together installations, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and multimedia works drawn from the Hammer’s contemporary collection. The participating artists include Edgar Arceneaux, Nayland Blake, Mark Bradford, Danielle Dean, Fred Eversley, Juliana Huxtable, Arthur Jafa, Rodney McMillian, Betye Saar, Cauleen Smith, Fred Wilson, Brenna Youngblood, and Halsey.
The exhibition takes its title from Sun Ra’s 1973 studio album and 1974 film ‘Space Is the Place.’ The Hammer identifies Sun Ra as a Black American experimental jazz composer and musician known for radical and esoteric views on Black liberation. Within the exhibition, “space” functions not only as a physical setting but also as a conceptual framework for considering identity, community, futurity, and the ways people establish a presence in the world.
The presentation includes works spanning a range of materials and approaches. Listed works include Thomas J. Price’s ‘A Place Beyond’ (2023), a bronze sculpture; Nayland Blake’s ‘Scum’ (1990), made with ink on chalkboard; and video works by Coleman Collins and Cauleen Smith. Juliana Huxtable’s ‘Untitled in the Rage (Nibiru Cataclysm)’ (2015), Fred Eversley’s ‘Untitled (cylindrical lens)’ (2024), and Brenna Youngblood’s ‘The Backbone of Resentment and Reassurance #3’ (2006) are also identified in the museum’s exhibition materials.
Several works address mapping, embodiment, memory, and constructed environments through distinct formal languages. Eric Wesley’s ‘Untitled (Everywhere I Have Worked, Lived, and Gone to School (1974-2000)’ (2000–1) uses pencil, pen, acrylic, and mixed media on paper, while Michael Queenland’s ‘Untitled (Baby smoking)’ (2017) combines marble, granite, ceramic tile, dye-sublimation tile, wood, and a metal frame. The selection places these works in dialogue rather than presenting a single medium or definition of futurist practice.
‘SPACE IS THE PLACE’ is presented as a Hammer Contemporary Collection exhibition, connecting the museum’s collection-building activities with a thematic installation of contemporary work. The Hammer’s collection includes prints, photographs, paintings, and other objects, and the museum states that admission is free. The exhibition is supported by the Pasadena Art Alliance, with additional support from the Hammer Exhibition Fund and listed individual donors.
‘SPACE IS THE PLACE: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection’ is on view at the Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, through September 6, 2026. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the museum is closed Mondays.
