With the hustle and bustle of New York gallery openings last week, you might have missed the big art story on the other side of the country: the hotly-awaited opening of the Broad, showcasing the collection of philanthropists and art world power couple Eli and Edythe Broad.
After considerable delay, the institution opens to the public on Sunday, September 20, with free admission.
Given all of the VIP events held throughout the week, however, many in the art world have already jumped the line, so to speak. Thankfully—for those of us whose invite got lost in the mail—the festivities have been heavily Instagrammed.
If you can’t wait until Sunday or make it out to LA (be forewarned that 85,000 people have already reserved their tickets to the museum), enjoy this pictorial round up of highlights from the Broad collection and some of the high-profile guests on hand for its opening.
As expected, the main draw for art selfies is Yayoi Kusama‘s Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013)—it wasn’t for nothing that it appeared on our list of the all-time most popular art exhibitions on Instagram.
Other promisingly grammable moments include Robert Therrien‘s installation of a ginormous dining set Under the Table.
Gagosian Gallery posted a snap with elegantly-attired guests admiring several works by Jeff Koons, including the iconic Balloon Dog (one of our favorite canine-themed artworks).
Larger-than-life works seemed to be trend among the Instagram set. Like, ahem, these giant plates (also by Robert Therrien).
And these lustrous tapestries from El Anatsui.
Belgian art collector and philanthropist Baroness Myriam Ullens de Schooten was there with daughter in tow.
Trippy-looking Takashi Murakami sculptures have also caught the eye of early, Instagram-happy visitors.
As did this intriguing-looking performance piece by Lilli Muller.
Art world power players, including the recently-engaged Xin Li, the model-turned contemporary art specialist for Christie’s, were among the bold-faced names featured in snaps of the opening on social media.
Christie’s chairman Brett Gorvy also spotted movie-star-turned-art-collector Owen Wilson chatting with painter Julian Schnabel.
It’s LA, so of course there was a velvet-roped red carpet.
The bells and whistles for the opening festivities for the highly-anticipated institution included a seated dinner with full orchestra.
The Broad also let loose with a performance by the Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde, photographed here by PR maven Sara Fitzmaurice, founder of New York’s Fitz & Co.
The steel mesh facade encasing the Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed building looks imposing when seen from the street.
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