Curves Ahead

On a personal trip to Southern California, I carved out time to drive to Los Angeles and see the architecture of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Stepping inside felt like stepping into the future. Designed by MAD Architects in Exposition Park, the building has almost no straight lines. For a photographer who spends most days chasing clean verticals, that was a welcome challenge. It was a warm, sunny day under bright blue skies, and the light gently hugged the building, shifting in new ways as the hours passed. Inside, the organic forms and white, minimal interiors let the curves and light speak for themselves. In the main foyer, six glass elevators carry guests to the fourth floor, where the galleries loop and wind like a labyrinth through the entire length of the structure. Here, circulation becomes part of the story, more than a way to move from one room to the next.

What moved me most was how the architecture serves the museum’s mission. This is a space built to make art accessible to many, and themes like good versus evil and the little defeating the big echo from gallery to gallery. Works by the masters sit alongside manga, comics, and cinematic sci-fi art from recent decades, and the building holds it all with calm, open confidence. It’s a great reminder of what happens when design intent and purpose line up. Congratulations to the entire team at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and MAD Architects on a remarkable space.

Matt Swain Photography is based in the Pacific Northwest, photographing architecture in Los Angeles, CA, across the West Coast, and nationwide.