The Getty Center and The Getty Villa
Supplement your experience in the galleries with an artist's point of view.

These talks feature Los Angeles-based artists and related specialists in an informal and intimate gallery-talk program that offers a unique perspective on the Museum's collection and special exhibitions. Free; offered on select afternoons.

Recently in the series


L.A. Odyssey Project: Peter Shire in Conversation with Mary Hart
October 18, 2014
As part of the Library Foundation's monthlong celebration of Homer's Odyssey, L.A. artist Peter Shire joined curator Mary Hart for a conversation about ancient and contemporary storytelling through art. The tour featured a presentation of Shire's recent interpretation of a Greek vase, which sets the tale of Odysseus in contemporary Los Angeles. In the galleries, explore the ancient Greek vases that inspired his new work.

Robert "Rio" Hahn
October 1, 2014
Participants joined artist and writer Robert "Rio" Hahn in an exploration of photography as a tool for seeing. Hahn offers insights into the exhibition Minor White: Manifestations of the Spirit and shares his unique perspective stemming from his apprenticeship with Minor White in the 1970s, when he lived, worked, and taught with his mentor. Hahn also introduces observation exercises from his forthcoming book based on techniques initiated by White.

Byzantine Icons
May 17 and June 7, 2014
Participants joined contemporary iconographer Father Michael Courey for an exploration of the sacred icons in the exhibition Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections. The discussion focuses on gold leaf application, techniques of layering painted color, and the theological significance of materials, colors, and images in the Byzantine iconographic tradition.

Skip Arnold
September 22, 2012
Skip Arnold is known for his groundbreaking physical performances that address body politics and issues of strength, endurance, existence, and self-examination. In this talk, Arnold explored related themes in the exhibition Messerschmidt and Modernity.

Helen Morales
April 22 and May 5, 2012
Classicist and cultural critic Helen Morales spoke about her unique perspective on love, mythology, and sexuality in ancient Greece.

Fred Fisher
March 10, 2012
Architect Fred Fisher presented a gallery talk exploring representations of Los Angeles.

Sylvana Barrett
October 15, 2011
Artist Sylvana Barrett discussed mummy portraits in the Museum's collection from her unique perspective as an artist who works in the technique of encaustic painting.

Alexander Calzatti and Natasha Calzatti
June 11, 2011
Cameraman Alexander Calzatti (I Am Cuba!) and photographer Natasha Calzatti shared their behind-the-camera experiences of Cuba as they presented an in-gallery exploration of the exhibition A Revolutionary Project: Cuba from Walker Evans to Now.

Luther Gerlach
May 19 and 26, 2011
Scholar and practitioner of nineteenth-century photographic techniques, Luther Gerlach, offered insights into a number of selected objects from the exhibition In Search of Biblical Lands: From Jerusalem to Jordan in Nineteenth-century Photography.

Lillian Sizemore
March 24 and 31, 2011
Mosaic artist and educator Lillian Sizemore discussed several of the ancient mosaics from the Museum's collection from the perspective of artists and makers in this one-hour tour at the Getty Villa.

Wang Qingsong
January 29, 2011
Wang Qingsong, an internationally recognized Beijing-based photographer, explored the exhibition Photography from the New China, which includes Wang's large-scale photographs exploring the rapid cultural changes occurring in contemporary China. Translation by Zhang Fang.

Larry Towell
September 25, 2010
Larry Towell, an award-winning photographer, poet, and folk musician whose picture essays have been published in the New York Times, Life, Rolling Stone, and other magazines, explored the exhibition Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography since the Sixties, which features Towell's striking photographs of the Mennonite community.

Jon Swihart
September 11, 2010
Artist Jon Swihart explored the work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, one of France's most honored painters, in this in-gallery discussion. Complemented the exhibition The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme.


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