MOCA's Michael Asher Retrospective Sidelines His Los Angeles Roots

A review of MOCA's exhibition 'Michael Asher' criticizes the museum for downplaying the artist's deep connection to Los Angeles. Asher, a site-specific conceptual artist born in LA, spent decades teaching at CalArts and creating works inextricable from the city's art scene, such as 'Grinstein Collection' (1979), a wall straddling two Brentwood properties, and 'In Context' (1983–85), where he leased naming rights to MOCA's lobby. The review argues that curator José Luis Blondet's installation, with scattered plinths and vitrines, lacks chronological or thematic coherence, burying Asher's LA identity. Key works like 'Reinstallations' (2000–01, 2002–03), where Fairfax High School students re-curated LACMA galleries, are relegated to side hallways. The piece contrasts MOCA's approach with Asher's legacy, noting his mother Betty Asher's role at LACMA and his connections to Ferus, Gemini G.E.L., and the Grinsteins. The review concludes that MOCA's presentation betrays an assumption that Asher's ideas transcend place, ignoring how LA's lack of center motivated his critique of invisible art-world systems.