Alfonso Gonzalez Jr., a second-generation Los Angeles artist with roots in graffiti, sign painting, and muralism, has opened his first museum exhibition at LACMA. Titled “In Between Stops,” the show features 12 benches installed along the museum’s Kendall Concourse, each serving as a functional sculpture that honors the street art and vernacular signage of LA. Gonzalez Jr., who learned the sign-painting trade at Los Angeles Trade Tech College and worked for outdoor advertisement companies like Wall Dogs and Colossal Media, draws on his background to create fictitious ads that critique advertising tactics while preserving rapidly disappearing elements of LA culture, such as mom-and-pop shops and barber shops.
This exhibition matters because it brings the aesthetics of street art and commercial signage into a major museum context, elevating a traditionally overlooked visual language to fine art status. By highlighting the cultural richness of small businesses and the Chicano Art Movement’s influence, Gonzalez Jr. offers a nuanced commentary on urban development and commercial predation in Los Angeles. The show also underscores LACMA’s commitment to showcasing local artists who reflect the city’s diverse creative heritage, making it a significant moment for both the artist and the broader conversation about public art and institutional recognition.