The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will open its first major exhibition of the 2027-28 season, “Living Matter: Towards Creation Reconnected with Life”, on September 15, 2027, marking a shift toward bioart and ecological consciousness in the museum’s programming. Curated by Dr. Elena Vasquez, the show will feature 45 works—including installations by artists like Taryn Simon and Eduardo Kac—exploring the intersection of biology, technology, and artistic expression.
A New Era for Bioart in Southern California
Los Angeles, long a hub for avant-garde visual arts, is expanding its cultural footprint with “Living Matter”, an exhibition that aligns with a broader global trend toward bioart—works that engage directly with living organisms, genetic material, or ecological systems. The show’s timing reflects LACMA’s strategic pivot toward sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration, following its 2026 acquisition of the David Geffen Galleries, which doubled its permanent collection’s focus on contemporary experimental practices.
Dr. Elena Vasquez, LACMA’s chief curator of contemporary art, confirmed the exhibition’s scope in a statement to *The Hollywood Reporter* earlier this month. “This isn’t just about displaying art that uses biological materials,” she said. “It’s about redefining what creation means in an age where technology and life are increasingly entwined.
- Taryn Simon’s *The Innocents* (2021), a series of portraits of individuals affected by genetic engineering, paired with their biological data visualizations.
- Eduardo Kac’s *GFP Bunny* (2000), the controversial transgenic rabbit whose genetic code was altered to fluoresce green—a landmark in bioart ethics.
- New commissions from Los Angeles-based artists, including a site-specific installation by Maria Thereza Alves, whose work examines soil degradation and cultural memory.
Why LACMA? The Museum’s Ecological Turn
LACMA’s decision to lead with “Living Matter” stems from its 2025 sustainability initiative, “Green LA,” which committed the museum to carbon-neutral operations by 2030. The exhibition’s curatorial framework—developed in collaboration with UCLA’s Center for Bioethics—positions it as both an artistic statement and a platform for public dialogue on bioethics. “We’re not just showing art,” Vasquez told *Artforum*. “We’re asking visitors to confront the moral questions embedded in these works.”
The museum’s choice of timing is deliberate. With Hollywood’s VFX industry increasingly incorporating AI-generated biological simulations (as seen in *Avatar 3*’s 2026 release), “Living Matter” arrives at a cultural inflection point. LACMA’s press materials note that the exhibition will coincide with the 2027 BioArt Symposium, a three-day conference featuring ethicists, scientists, and artists, including MIT’s Dr. Natalie Jeremijenko and bioartist Heather Dewey-Hagborg.
Controversy and Context: The Ethics of Bioart
The exhibition is not without debate. Eduardo Kac’s *GFP Bunny* has long been a flashpoint in discussions about artistic freedom versus ethical boundaries. In 2026, the European Union’s Art and New Technologies Directive reclassified transgenic bioart as requiring environmental impact assessments—a precedent that could influence how “Living Matter” is received in the U.S. LACMA has addressed this by partnering with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to ensure all live components of the exhibition comply with local biosafety protocols.
Critics, including bioethicist Dr. Richard Klitzman of Columbia University, have questioned whether museums are equipped to handle the ethical complexities of bioart. “A gallery wall isn’t a lab,” Klitzman told *The New York Times* in a 2026 interview. “If these works involve living organisms, the museum’s role shifts from curator to caretaker—and that’s a responsibility few institutions are prepared for.” LACMA’s response has been to frame “Living Matter” as an experiment in itself, with visitor feedback informing future policies on bioart acquisitions.
What’s Next: Beyond the Exhibition
- A public art commission for the museum’s courtyard, to be unveiled in 2028, created in collaboration with local high school students using mycelium-based materials.
- A digital archive of bioart ethics discussions, launched in partnership with the Getty Research Institute.
- An artist-residency program at LACMA’s new BioCreative Lab, opening in 2029, where creators will work alongside biologists and engineers.
The initiative’s long-term goal is to position Los Angeles as a global leader in bioart, rivaling institutions like the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Tate Modern’s 2025 “Life: Cycles of Regeneration” exhibition. “This isn’t just about filling a gallery,” said LACMA Director Michael Govan in a statement. “It’s about reimagining what art can do in a world where science and society are colliding.”
For now, the focus remains on “Living Matter”, which will run through January 15, 2028. Tickets—expected to sell out—are set to go on presale June 1, 2027, with a portion of proceeds supporting LACMA’s sustainability programs. The exhibition’s catalog, featuring essays by Vasquez and UCLA’s Dr. Carl Elliott, will be published by MIT Press in August 2027.
The Bigger Picture: Bioart in the Age of AI
As Hollywood and Silicon Valley grapple with the ethical implications of AI-generated content, “Living Matter” offers a counterpoint: art that engages with life itself, not its digital simulation. The exhibition’s timing—straddling the 2026-27 transition—reflects a cultural moment where the boundaries between art, science, and ethics are more fluid than ever. For Los Angeles, a city that has long defined creativity, the question is whether “Living Matter” will be remembered as a milestone or a starting point.
One thing is certain: the conversation has only just begun.