Datebook: L.A. artist Brian Rea renders patterns in words at CMay Gallery

Paintings made with words and the ways in which photography can be used to re-imagine history. Plus, a group show that pays tribute to the legacy of Charles White. Here are seven exhibitions and events to check out in the coming week.

Brian Rea, “Islands,” at CMay Gallery. Rea, an L.A. artist, produces buoyant geometric patterns that are crafted from meticulous layers of words that also function as fragmented narratives. The show is the first in CMay Gallery’s new location in Mid-Wilshire. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through April 13. 5828 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cmaygallery.com.

“Encore: Reenactment Photography,” at the Getty Center. A group show brings together works by a range of contemporary photographers who explore the idea of the reenactment: the restaging of historical or other events for the camera. This includes works by Christina Fernandez, in which she stages scenes from her family’s history; Yasumasa Morimora, who employs himself to re-create famous works of art; and Gillian Wearing, who takes on the guise of historical and quotidian figures. Opens Tuesday and runs through June 9. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Michael Rakowitz, “Dispute Between the Tamarisk and the Date Palm,” at REDCAT. Rakowitz recently made headlines for declining to participate in the Whitney Biennial in protest of a trustee whose company produces tear gas that was deployed on immigrants at the border. Now he is having his first exhibition in Los Angeles, a politically minded installation that explores the history of Iraq. The show takes its title from a Sumerian tale in which a king plants a tamarisk and a date palm in his courtyard and the two trees argue their merits with each other. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through June 2. 631 W. 2nd St., downtown Los Angeles, redcat.org.

“Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary,” at the California African American Museum. A show of work by contemporary artists reflects on the ongoing influence of painter and teacher Charles White, known for his depiction of the black figure, frequently rendered in mystical ways. The show includes works by Sadie Barnette, Diedrick Brackens, Kenturah Davis, Toyin Ojih Odutula, among many others. Opens Friday and runs through Aug. 26. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.

Tarrah Krajnak, “1979: Contact Negatives,” at as-is. The artist is transforming the gallery into an operative photo studio and darkroom of sorts that she will employ to metaphorically send herself to Lima, Peru, the city where she was adopted from an orphanage in 1979. Opens Sunday at 3 p.m. and runs through April 20. 1133 Venice Blvd., Pico-Union, Los Angeles, as-is.la.

Gloria Galvez, “Going Bananas,” at the Women’s Center for Creative Work. In a solo exhibition, Galvez, an artist-in-residence at the WCCW, traces the colonial history of the banana — a fruit that has shaped trade and economies and for which republics have been labeled. Through March 31. 2425 Glove Place, Elysian Valley, womenscenterforcreativework.com.

Architecture and Design Film Festival, at Los Angeles Center Theatre. The design film festival is back in town with a new slate of movies devoted to a range of architectural subjects, including the nature of the home, gaming and design, as well as the beguiling Frank Lloyd Wright doc produced by former Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne. Opens Wednesday and runs through March 17. Check the website for screening times. 514 S. Spring St., downtown Los Angeles, adfilmfest.com.

LAST CHANCE

Wang Xu, “Garden of Seasons,” at the Vincent Price Art Museum. When Heritage Falls Park in Monterey Park was built in the 1920s, it included a niche that housed a marble sculpture popularly referred to as “Athena.” The sculpture disappeared shortly after it was installed and was only replaced in 2005, when the Monterey Park Historical Society commissioned a replacement. In 2017, Wang created a work inspired by an image of a woman who worked at the marble quarry and factory where the replacement was created — all of which inspired the work of video on view. Through Saturday. East Los Angeles College, 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org.

Mark Dean Veca, “The Troubled Teens: Work of a Decade,” at Jason Vass. Take some popular culture and marinate it in art history. Add a bit of William Blake and stir in some Renaissance wallpaper patterns. Veca’s work is a wild fusion of ideas and styles. This show gathers some of the artist’s most recent pieces. Through Saturday. 1452 E. 6th St., downtown Los Angeles, jasonvass.com.

Beverly Pepper, “New Particles From the Sun,” at Kayne Griffin Corcoran. With a title inspired by a poem by Frank O’Hara, this exhibition explores the work produced by Pepper in the 1960s and 1970s. The artist, now 96, is known for creating ebullient forms in metal — a material alluded to in O’Hara’s poem, which harks to Greek mythology and the belief that metals were gifts of the gods. Through Saturday. 1201 S. La Brea Ave., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, kaynegriffincorcoran.com.

“One Day at a Time: Manny Farber and Termite Art” at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1962, artist and critic Manny Farber wrote an essay titled “White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art,” which picks apart the excesses of market-oriented “white elephant” art and celebrates “termite art,” made on a smaller, more personal scale and reflecting deep commitment and attention. This exhibition will feature more than 100 works by 30 artists inspired by Farber’s idea of art as being about “observing and being in the world.” I assume this means no sculptures by Jeff Koons. Through Monday. 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.

ONGOING

Jeffrey Vallance, “Other Animals,” and Rema Ghuloum, “Love Is a Feeling,” at Edward Cella Art & Architecture. For 40 years, Vallance has brought his curious eye to his drawings of animals, drawings which are often linked to his long-running practice in painting and performance. Through March 16. 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, edwardcella.com.

“Outliers and American Vanguard Art,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Like most other areas of culture, art has long been preoccupied with issues of credential: of those who are trained in the academy and those who are not — though credential has never been a guarantee of producing art that is transcendent. This wide-ranging exhibition, organized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, presents more than 250 works by more than 80 artists that chronicles moments in time in which the self-taught intersected with the avant-garde. This includes work by Henry Darger, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and Martín Ramirez, among many others. Through March 17. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Trina McKillen, “Confess,” at the Laband Art Gallery. McKillen explores the legacy of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in an installation — complete with a scale confession box — that places the priest in the position of begging forgiveness from a flock of children. Through March 23. 1 LMU Drive, Westchester, Los Angeles, cfa.lmu.edu.

Inaugural Exhibition, at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. The long-time Culver City gallery is unveiling a new 11,000-square-foot downtown gallery space with a group show featuring work by its stable of artists, including Charles Gaines, Ruben Ochoa, Kim Dingle, Amy Sillman, Andrea Bowers, Rodney McMillian and many more. Through March 23. 1700 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, vielmetter.com.

Kelly Berg and Caroline Larsen, “Textured Environments,” at Barrett Gallery. Two artists known for their mixed-media paintings — including materials such as bits of mirror, acrylic and thread — have a two-woman show on view at Santa Monica College. Through March 23. 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, smc.edu.

Graham Collins, “The Working Sky,” at Steve Turner. Collins takes elements of found paintings and other materials and uses them to craft multimedia pieces and sculpture that explore elements of material and abstraction. Through March 23. 6830 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, steveturner.la.

Rafael Cardenas, “Landscape and Land Dwellers: Photography of Place,” at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Cardenas is widely known for his street photography. In this new exhibition he brings together a series of portraits and landscape images that find the connection between people and place in Los Angeles. Through March 25. 501 N. Main St., downtown Los Angeles, lapca.org.

“Laura Owens” and “Zoe Leonard: Survey,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. The museum’s Geffen branch is opening a pair of exhibitions: the paintings retrospective of Los Angeles painter Laura Owens, whose groundbreaking work reinvigorated painting with canvases that toy with abstraction, figuration and the picture plane itself, as well as Leonard, the New York-born conceptual artist whose work has included visceral sculpture (fruit peeled and sewn back together), photography (both her own and vernacular) and poetry (her famous poem, “I Want a President”). Through March 25. Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.

Titian, “Portrait of a Lady in White,” at the Norton Simon Museum. The 16th century Venetian painter achieved great fame in his lifetime for works such as “Venus of Urbino,” a nude that served as a model for countless nudes to follow. The Norton Simon has four paintings by Titian in its collection and now it is adding “Portrait of a Lady in White” on a temporary basis, as a loan from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany. The image shows an unidentified sitter — possibly one of his daughters, possibly a mistress — resplendent in white dress and cherry-red lips. Through March 25. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Clarissa Tossin, “Artist Lab,” and Maj Hasager, “Iterations,” at 18th Street Arts Center. The Santa Monica artist space has kicked off its winter season with two intriguing shows. The first is by L.A.-based artist Clarissa Tossin, who is known for creating beguiling sculpture, installation and performance pieces that explore themes of indigenous history and memory. For her show at 18th Street, she is inviting amateur and professional musicians to play traditional Maya instruments ornamented with patterns from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House. Hasager, in the meantime, is presenting a project inspired by her research on the Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica — building an alternative historical archive on the area. Tossin’s show runs through March 29, Hasager’s through April 5. 1639 18th St., Santa Monica, 18thstreet.org.

Camille Rose García, “A Web of Stars,” at Corey Helford Gallery. A show of 14 paintings by an artist known for her depictions of fantastical creatures explores the interconnectedness of beings in the universe employing the spider as metaphor. Through March 30. 571 S. Anderson St., Boyle Heights, coreyhelfordgallery.com.

Nicolas Roggy at Freedman Fitzpatrick. The gallery is showing works by the French artist whose abstract paintings are composed from layers of imagery, some inspired by aspects of the digital. Through March 30. 6051 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, freedmanfitzpatrick.com.

Merce Cunningham, “Clouds and Screens” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This exhibition pairs well with LACMA’s show on Robert Rauschenberg since Cunningham, the famed choreographer, was a good pal and collaborator. This show delves just into that: Cunningham’s myriad collaborations with artists who helped him create costumes, film, music and sets. Through March 31. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Gonzalo Lebrija, “Veladuras Nocturnas,” at Kohn Gallery. The Mexican artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery features painting (a series of abstract geometric forms inspired by veils), sculpture (which takes its form from a Bic lighter and nods to the concept of the eternal flame) and the social and political history of cigars (a video titled “Vía Láctea”). Through March. 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, kohngallery.com.

Candice Lin, “The Inscrutable Speech of Objects,” at Weingart Gallery. Lin is an artist interested in the material histories of colonialism, the stories of traded goods such as opium, tea, porcelain and sugar. For this work, she has created an installation that uses some of these materials (sugar cane and tobacco) to reflect on a 1980 essay that employed the Chinese language to contend with questions of sentience. Through April 5. Occidental College, 1600 Campus Rd., Eagle Rock, oxy.edu.

“Color Out of Space,” at Lowell Ryan Projects. H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “Color Out of Space” is about a meteor that crashes into a rural area and brings with it indescribable colors from the remote reaches of the galaxy. The story’s themes — which channel notions of uncertainty and the unknowable — are explored by five artists in a new group show: Mark Flood, Nasim Hantehzadeh, Kysa Johnson, Laurie Nye and Galen Trezise. Through April 6. 4851 West Adams Blvd., West Adams, lowellreyanprojects.com.

“Stargazers: Intersections of Contemporary Art and Astronomy,” at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion. This group exhibition, inspired by the opening of a new planetarium at Orange Coast College, brings together works by artists such as Lita Albuquerque, Lia Halloran, Russell Crotty, Laura Gruenther and other figures whose works reflect on aspects of space and time. Through April 6. Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, orangecoastcollege.edu.

“Artful Words,” at the Getty Museum. Words have never just been words. They have also been art — rendered with flamboyant lines, golden inks and other embellishments. This exhibition gathers various examples of the artful ways in which texts have been rendered on various surfaces, including illuminated manuscripts, a Koran and Italian ceramics. Through April 7. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Cristian Răduță, “The Diamond Hunters,” at Nicodim Gallery. The Romanian artist creates fantastical animal figures from various parts — a table leg, mannequin pieces, a piece of pipe and myriad other found objects. A menagerie of the bizarre and the surreal. Through April 13. 571 S. Andersen St., Los Angeles, nicodimgallery.com.

Takashi Murakami, “Gyatei2,” at Gagosian. The gallery is presenting a series of works by the prodigious Japanese artist inspired by his blend of sci-fi, anime, pop culture and traditional Japanese painting. The exhibition title comes from a popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism that is chanted by zen groups. Its words are thought to indicate enlightenment or rebirth. Through April 13. 456 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, gagosian.com.

Kim Dingle, “I Will Be Your Server (The Lost Supper Paintings),” at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. The Los Angeles painter is known for her images of feral little girls engaged in acts of destruction. In her latest show at Vielmetter, she presents works on vellum from 14 years ago that had been filed away in a pizza box and subsequently misplaced. Through April 13. 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, vielmetter.com.

Annie Leibovitz, “The Early Years, 1970-1983,” at Hauser & Wirth. Originally presented by the LUMA Foundation in Arles, France, this exhibition brings together more than 4,000 images snapped by the prodigious rock photographer in the early years of her career. The show features personal images as well as the work from Rolling Stone that made her a national figure. Through April 14. 901 E. Third St., downtown Los Angeles, hauserwirth.com.

Yevgeniya Mikhailik, “A Slow Conflict,” at Grand Central Art Center. Paintings explore the evolution of the world at scales both geological and minute, calling for a deeper, more personal engagement with the natural landscape. Through April 14. 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, grandcentralartcenter.com.

David Alekhuogie, “Gravity,” and Mariah Garnett, “Trouble,” at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. The gallery is featuring a pair of solo shows. This includes work by Alekhuogie, whose paintings and collaged images touch on tropes of urban hip hop culture and male sexuality. Garnett, in her first institutional exhibition in the meantime, presents various experimental documentaries, including one devoted to Belfast, Ireland and another about military veterans turned Hollywood stunt men. Through April 14. 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, lamag.org.

Lisa Solomon, “Hinan / Evacuation,” at Walter Maciel Gallery. In her fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, Solomon focuses on the stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Some of her work manipulates the signage of the era (such as the infamous relocation poster that began, “Instructions to all persons of Japanese ancestry”), while other pieces focus on the cultural rituals that made life in the camps tolerable on a day-to-day basis. Through April 20. 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, waltermacielgallery.com.

Graciela Iturbide, “Hay Tiempo,” at Rosegallery. The Mexican photographer is known for turning a sensitive and poetic lens on myriad subjects, whether it’s indigenous groups in southern Mexico or Chicano youth in East L.A. This show gathers work by the artist in honor of her solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the first major East Coast presentation of her work. Through April 20. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., D4, Santa Monica, rosegallery.net.

“West of Modernism: California Graphic Design, 1975-1995,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A show drawn from LACMA’s growing collection of design objects looks at a transformative moment in graphic design, when individual designers were becoming more high-profile, the home computer was shaking up the ways in which design could be produced and images were becoming increasingly fragmented and layered. Through April 21. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“MONUMENTality” at the Getty Research Institute. An exhibition about monuments and monumentality looks at the role that these structures play as symbols of power. The show includes a wide array of works from across cultures and time, including depictions of the pre-Columbian Nazca lines in the Peruvian desert, a grandiose reconstruction of ancient Rome as depicted by 18th century printmaker Piranesi, rare 19th century photographs that show a citizens uprising during the days of the Paris Commune in 1871 and documentation of contemporary earthworks. Through April 21. 1200 Getty Center Dr., Brentwood, getty.edu.

Desert X, in locations around the Coachella Valley. The desert biennial is back with a series of installations by artists such as Mary Kelly, Cara Romero, Julian Hoeber, Nancy Baker Cahill and and others, all reflecting on the state of our fragile environment. Through April 21. See the website for programming and locations, desertx.org.

Tschabalala Self, “Bodega Run,” at the Hammer Museum. For her Hammer Project, Self is presenting the final iteration of a project inspired by the corner convenience store, or bodega. Drawings and neon signs evoke the shelves of these urban commercial centers that also function as impromptu gathering spaces. Through April 28. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, hammer.ucla.edu.

Pontormo, “Miraculous Encounters,” at the Getty Museum. In the 1520s, Florentine painter Pontormo created a luminous larger-than-life painting of the Virgin Mary’s meeting with her cousin St. Elizabeth. The painting remained virtually unknown until it appeared in a small church in Carmignano in the early 20th century. It is now on view in Los Angeles for the very first time, along with related drawings and two portraits. The show was organized by the Getty in collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence and the Morgan & Library Museum in New York. Through April 28. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

“Unsettled,” at the Palm Springs Art Museum. A group show features work by more than 75 artists living or working in the “Greater West,” encompassing a region from Alaska to Central America, as well as a diverse range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography and performance. There will even be Twitter poems. Through April 30. 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, psmuseum.org.

Sandra de la Loza, “Mi Casa Es Su Casa,” and Sara Kathryn Arledge, “Serene for the Moment,” at the Armory Center for the Arts. The Armory has a pair of shows on view. The first, by De la Loza, is an immersive installation constructed from collaged images that dwell on the nature of identity and community. Also on view are a series of paintings by the late Arledge, an artist known for her bright landscapes and experimental filmmaking. Through May 12. 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, armoryarts.org.

Beatriz Cortez, “Trinidad / Joy Station,” at the Craft Contemporary. At a moment of political dystopia, the L.A. artist imagines a bit of utopia: a futuristic space station that suggests a communal, indigenous space apart from capitalism and Western civilization. She also recycles symbols of the military-industrial complex — say, a form that evokes the container where the first atomic bomb was detonated, turned into a seed repository. The show wrestles with our difficult present, too: one series is inspired by the beds inhabited by children in border detention centers. Through May 12. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cafam.org.

“Focus Iran 3: Contemporary Photography and Video,” at the Craft & Folk Art Museum. The third iteration of this biennial devoted to Iranian art and culture turns its lens to youth culture. The show is organized in collaboration with the Farhang Foundation and features 42 works from Iranian artists from around the world. Through May 12. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cafam.org.

Allen Ruppersberg, “Intellectual Property 1968-2018,” at the Hammer Museum. Over the course of his career, the U.S.-based conceptual artist has employed elements of popular culture — newspapers, magazines, band posters and more — to create curious juxtapositions of image and text. This is the first comprehensive survey devoted to his work in more than 30 years and will feature some of his groundbreaking early environmental installations, including “Al’s Cafe” from 1969 and “Al’s Grand Hotel” from 1971. Through May 12. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

“Dirty Protest: Selections from the Contemporary Collection, at the Hammer Museums. An exhibition drawn from recent acquisitions to the museum’s permanent collection brings together contemporary works by more than 30 international artists. The show takes its title from a 2015 painting by Tala Madani included in the show. Through May 19. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

“Once Upon a Tapestry: Woven Tales of Helen and Dido,” at the Norton Simon Museum. Helen of Troy was the beautiful ancient heroine whose kidnapping launched the Trojan War. Dido was the first queen of Carthage, who famously killed herself on a funeral pyre. This exhibition looks at the ways in which these women and their stories have been depicted in a series of five 16th and 17th centuries tapestries. Through May 27. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The print maker Robert Rauschenberg was known for making obsessive works, including a monumental 190-panel installation that when assembled reaches approximately a quarter-mile in length. The show includes ambient sound and other additional elements. Through June 9. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“Charles White: A Retrospective,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Over the course of a more than four-decade career, this influential artist, teacher and activist produced work that celebrated African American history and black pride and condemned institutional racism. The show, organized by LACMA in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, brings together more than 100 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs from throughout the span of White’s life as he moved between Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. The presentation will include 13 additional works from LACMA’s permanent collection. Through June 9. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

“The Jeweled Isle: Art from Sri Lanka,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The first comprehensive survey of historic Sri Lankan art organized by a U.S. museum is featuring 240 works of art drawn from nearly 2,000 years of the country’s history. This includes decorative objects crafted in gold, silver and ivory, furnishings, historic photographs and relics from sacred Buddhist sites. Through June 23. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

“Auto-Didact: The Juxtapoz School,” at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Custom car culture has had a far-reaching influence on American culture in general, including art, where representation, design and finishes have all had an influence. The show features works by Von Dutch, Sandow Birk, Gary Panter, Mister Cartoon, Robert Williams, Suzanne Williams and many others. Through June. 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, petersen.org.

“Tsuruya Kōkei: Modern Kabuki Prints Revised & Revisited,” at the USC Pacific Asia Museum. Kōkei, a key postwar artist, is known for his 20th century take on the Kabuki print, rendering historic leading actors and important stage works in ways that employ intense color and motion. This exhibition gathers 77 prints from the ’80s and ’90s and also explores how Kabuki imagery has inspired Pop and other forms of contemporary art. Through July 14. 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu.

Kudzanai Chiurai, Zina Saro-Wiwa and Mikhael Subotzky, “Inheritance: Recent Video from Africa,” at the Fowler Museum. A group show features recent video work by three contemporary African artists who address issues of environment, social issues and historical realities in their work. Through July 28. UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Dr., Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu.

Adia Millett, “Breaking Patterns,” at the California African American Museum. Millett creates work inspired by the nature of quilts — pieces in which disparate pieces come together to form a cohesive, sheltering whole. Through Aug. 25. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, caamuseum.org.

“Gráfica América,” at the Museum of Latin American Art. An exhibition looks at printmaking in its various manifestations, featuring work by more than 100 artists and master printers, including Mexico’s Taller de Gráfica Popular and L.A.’s own Mixografía, known for the prints that extend into three dimensions. Participating artists include Pepe Coronado, Sandra C. Fernández and Fernando De León. Through Sept. 1. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, molaa.or

“Life Model: Charles White and his Students,” at Charles White Elementary School. In conjunction with the Charles White retrospective at LACMA, the museum is organizing this exhibition that looks at the late artist’s impact on the art world as a teacher. The exhibition features work by many of his students, including David Hammons, Judithe Hernández, Kerry James Marshall and Kent Twitchell. Through Sept. 15. 2401 Wilshire Blvd., Westlake, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Jennifer Levonian, “Lost Islands of Philadelphia,” and Jon Haddock, “The Things (that do not spark joy),” at Grand Central Art Center. Grand Central Art Center is marking two decades with several shows, including paintings by Levonian (inspired by some long-gone riverine islands in Philadelphia) and a wall mural by Haddock. Other works — including paintings by Yevgeniya Mikhailik and an installation by Angel Nevarez and Valerie Tevere exploring development and gentrification — are also on view. Through Sept. 15. 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, grandcentralartcenter.com.

“The Archival Impulse: 40 Years at LACE,” at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. LACE, the historic Los Angeles art spot that gave key shows to Mike Kelley and groups such as Survival Research Laboratories in the ’80s, is turning 40 — and to mark the occasion, the organization has been poking around its metaphorical attic (aka its archive) to see what it might turn up. This show gathers elements from that archive as well as video works by a range of Los Angeles artists, including Jim Shaw, Susan Mogul and Reza Abdoh. Through December 31. 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, welcometolace.org.

“L.A. Communities Through the Eyes of Artists,” in the Passageway Gallery at Union Station. For 15 years, L.A.’s principal train station has been showcasing work that reveals the city through the eyes of its artists. This year, it is showing a series of newly commissioned pieces — including Shizu Saldamando’s depiction of Little Tokyo, Sam Pace on Leimert Park and Artemio Rodriguez on East L.A. On long-term view; no closing date set. Union Station, 800 N. Alameda St., downtown Los Angeles, metro.net.

Daniel Hawkins, “Desert Lighthouse.” The Los Angeles-based artist is obsessed with producing works that toy with ideas of grandiosity, failure and gestures that border on the Sisyphean. (One of his goals as an artist is to ultimately build a scale replica of the Hoover Dam.) Now, Hawkins has installed a 50-foot tall, fully functioning lighthouse in the Mojave Desert in the vicinity of Barstow. The piece even features a light to guide travelers through this rugged landscape. Directions and coordinates can be found on the website. On long-term view, Hinkley, Calif., desertlighthouse.org.