MOCA Grand Ordinary People: Photorealism and the Work of Art since 1968
Detail of Robert Bechtle, ‘61 Pontiac, 1968-69, oil on canvas
Reexamining photorealism and its contemporary impact, Ordinary People features over forty artists from the 1960s to today, spanning painting, drawing, and sculpture. This exhibition challenges the perception of photorealism as an end to representation, instead positioning it as a continuing force in contemporary art. It highlights canonical figures (Robert Bechtle, Vija Celmins, Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Duane Hanson, Idelle Weber), artists reconsidered through a photorealist lens (John Ahearn & Rigoberto Torres, Barkley L. Hendricks, Joan Semmel, Amy Sherald), and contemporary practitioners (Gina Beavers, Cynthia Daignault, Sayre Gomez, Vincent Valdez, Christine Tien Wang).
Ordinary People explores photorealism’s role in the resurgence of figurative portraiture and its function in diversifying museum representation. It examines the interplay between ordinary subjects and extraordinary techniques, considering themes of labor, value, and social critique. Many artists employ photorealism’s approachable aesthetic to expose difficult historical and social realities, while the movement’s meticulous craftsmanship underscores the significance of artistic labor in the digital age’s image overload.
Hung Liu, Father’s Day, 1994, oil on canvas and found wooden object
The Evolution of Photorealism
Emerging in the late 1960s and 1970s, photorealist artists were the first to meticulously replicate photographs by hand. Their paintings are paradoxical—handmade yet mechanically derived, capturing fleeting moments through months of labor. Often dismissed as a short-lived movement, Ordinary People argues for photorealism’s lasting influence.
The exhibition emphasizes its depiction of everyday people, positioning photorealism within ongoing efforts to broaden artistic representation. It highlights the genre’s history of social critique, using its non-confrontational style to reveal uncomfortable truths. In the digital era, where images are ubiquitous, photorealism’s deliberate craftsmanship serves as a counterpoint to mass visual consumption.
More than just a showcase of skill, Ordinary People reframes photorealism as a discipline rooted in labor—comparable to sign painting—resonating with audiences through its connection to everyday work and life.
Featured Works
Sam Lipp – Sleep (2016) Acrylic on foamcore mounted on aluminum
Lipp paints on foamcore, a material associated with school projects and presentations, rather than traditional canvas. Using steel wool to apply countless dots of acrylic, he mimics the pixelated nature of digital imagery. Sleep, sourced from Grindr, explores desire, voyeurism, and the intersection of screen culture and queer identity.
Marilyn Levine – Intent and TraceLevine’s ceramic sculptures replicate worn leather objects, capturing human presence through marks of use. She distinguished between "intent" (deliberate actions) and "trace" (unintended imprints of life), positioning her work as a meditation on labor, touch, and material memory.
Cynthia Daignault – Twenty-Six Seconds (2024) Oil on linenDaignault reinterprets the infamous Zapruder film by painting all 486 frames, challenging the way historical images shape collective memory. Her abstracted canvases destabilize a well-known event, encouraging fresh engagement with the visual language of history.
Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. – American Pawn Shop (2024) Oil, enamel, latex, dirt, gel medium, and light box on wood panelGonzalez recreates a pawn shop facade, blending sign painting and mural techniques to reflect on urban landscapes, consumerism, and socioeconomic disparity. His work pays homage to the entrepreneurial ecosystem that forms the backbone of grassroots, neighborhood commerce, embodies the hustle and creative energy of life in the city, and contributes to Los Angeles’s unique cultural and visual identity.
Bad GirlsThis gallery presents women artists who subverted traditional painting norms, reclaiming subjects once dismissed as decorative or domestic. Through photorealism, they challenge and redefine artistic hierarchies.
-end-Ordinary People asserts that photorealism is not merely a technical exercise but a vital force in contemporary art. By foregrounding themes of labor, representation, and social critique, the exhibition reaffirms the movement’s relevance in an era of rapid image consumption. It invites viewers to reconsider the significance of photorealism—not as an end, but as an evolving dialogue between art and life.
The exhibition will be up until May 4, 2025