Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. Transforms LACMA Concourse with Painted Benches in 'In Between Stops'

Alfonso Gonzalez Jr., a second-generation Los Angeles painter raised in East LA, has realized a childhood dream with his exhibition 'In Between Stops' at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The show, on view from February 22 to December 1, 2026, occupies LACMA's outdoor Kendall Concourse and features 12 functional benches that visitors can sit on. Gonzalez Jr., who learned sign painting at Los Angeles Trade Tech College's Sign Graphics program—the same program his father attended—honors his roots as a graffiti artist, sign painter, and muralist. The benches incorporate fictitious advertisements inspired by works from LACMA's collection, including a Jeff Koons dog remixed with a painting of a friend on a horse. One bench references the Chicano art collective Asco, which tagged LACMA's old building in the 1970s as a protest against the museum's lack of diversity. Gonzalez Jr. also highlights disappearing LA culture, featuring mom-and-pop shops, barber shops, and beauty salons. His father, a commercial sign painter, helped create the benches, which are prepared to withstand outdoor elements using techniques Gonzalez Jr. learned at Trade Tech. The interactive nature of the benches is central to the work, aiming to break the typical distance between viewer and art. Gonzalez Jr. previously apprenticed at Wall Dogs and Colossal Media, developing his photorealistic painting style for outdoor advertisements.