Grounded at LACMA Explores Land as Foundation for Ecology, Memory, and Identity

LACMA's exhibition 'Grounded: History Is in the Land' (on view through June 21, 2026) presents 40 works by 35 artists from the 1970s to today, many making their public debut or first showing at the museum. The show highlights LACMA's holdings of local, Latine, Chicanx, and Indigenous artists of the Americas and Pacific. Works are grouped by artistic approach, material, or theme, with a dominant method being the upcycling of materials. The title borrows from a series by the late Laura Aguilar, who photographed her nude body in Joshua Tree. Other photographers include Fernando Brito, whose series 'Tus pasos se perdieron con el paisaje' depicts bodies along the U.S.–Mexico border. Courtney M. Leonard (Shinnecock Nation) presents 'BREACH #2', 38 ceramic sperm whale teeth on a pallet, addressing conflicts between environmental policies and Indigenous practices. Claudia Alarcón and the Silät weavers collective contribute 'The Shell of Memory' (2024), woven with chaguar fiber using the yica stitch. Guillermo Bert's 'La Bestia' (2017) embeds QR codes in Mapuche-style textiles linking to a migrant's testimony. Michael Alvarez's 'Neighborhood Watch' (2012) depicts a car accident in El Sereno using debris from his studio. The exhibition is in BCAM, Level 2.