Los Angeles enters the month of March with a diverse array of exhibitions following the intensity of its major art fair week. Highlights include Hayv Kahraman’s mystical paintings at Vielmetter, which process the trauma of displacement and environmental loss, and a survey of the late muralist Noni Olabisi at Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery. Other notable shows feature Jesse Wiedel’s expressionistic Americana at Serious Topics and Lauren Quin’s formalist abstractions at Pace Los Angeles.
This slate of exhibitions reflects a shift from the commercial frenzy of art fairs toward focused institutional and gallery presentations that engage with personal and national identity. By spotlighting both contemporary figures like Kahraman and Quin alongside countercultural icons like Wally Hedrick and Wallace Berman, the Los Angeles art scene continues to bridge its historical underground roots with its current status as a global hub for contemporary painting and social practice.