Sunday, 19 April 2026, the David Geffen Galleries opened to the press. The weather was fine and walking the galleries was an expansive experience. You need to go in with an open mind, comfortable shoes and no small children.

At the opening ceremonies, the unusual architecture was addressed. The exterior is not meant to be perfect–imperfection show the presence of the human hand. It provided much needed shade, but inside the concept was one of no hierarchies, transparency and no facades, no fronts no backs. In some cases that means that items are presented on tables without glass to cover or protect them. Statues are on the around and not on pedestals. One imagines the galleries might prove a nightmare for elementary through middle school age groups or the odd sticky-hand child with an absent-minded adult. There are signs, but there were also signs that being told not to touch proved a tempting invisible line that might be crossed sometime in the future.

To get up to the galleries, it isn’t readily apparent where the elevators are. Before taking the hike up the stairs, look for the elevators on the areas underneath where you can cross under unless you want some stairs exercise.

The glass exterior walls give you a wonderful clear view of the museum row.

Yet the space is deceptively open. There is only concrete and no carpet or rugs to walk on. That’s easy to clean up, but also easy to slip on and hard on your feet. As a sometime artist who has lived with dogs with a concrete floor, I know it can be unforgiving if you fall or drop something, but it is also incredibly easy to clean. Because there are no carpets to muffle sounds  that also means sound travels and echoes throughout of the structure. On opening day, the performance artists  used the echoes in their performances.

In the open space that is set off by comfortable seating, people were invited to join in by the vocalist and dance to the music provided by a solo violinist. From time to time, a person on a bicycle would perform tricks. So be ready to be part of the art performance.  When I later returned, there was a different performance artist and cyclist there and plenty of people sitting around taking videos with their smartphones.

There are also pieces that are best appreciated with another person in the room. Ian and I had fun in the relative privacy in this room.

The arrangement of the museum mixes light and dim to dark, open and public to quiet and private. There are smaller rooms and the walls leading to them are also utilized. This can bring the quiet contemplative aspect of art museums but also serve as a little bit of theater. One room held a precious robe for view in the dimly lit interior. Another had a lively video sequence running on a loop.

Inside the new structure, the layout can be disorienting for people used to rectangular structures and right angled boxes fit inside of boxes. There are those rectangular rooms on the interior that are set askew as one wanders in and out. You might get momentarily lost, but let that moment of confusion open you up to possibilities. Meander instead of taking a structured, straight and narrowly defined pathway.

When I first came to Los Angeles, I missed San Diego’s Balboa Park which is a gathering place for people to appreciate animals and art. I thought that was something Los Angeles lacked. Yet the David Geffen Galleries has the potential to invite people into art, outside with the shaded spaces and inside with opportunities to interact with performance artists and spaces to play with friends as well as the more traditional art spaces for quiet contemplation.

Visually, I’m not a big fan of the new building, but the shaded grounds underneath could become a place of cultural convergence and inside there are possibilities for creative art experiences as well. The David Geffen Galleries are filled with possibilities so I wait to see where the imagination of LACMA will take it.