Glenn Ligon In Conversation at Hauser & Wirth DTLA

Hauser & Wirth's downtown gallery is opening two painting shows on the same night, and it's kicking things off with a free talk in its garden. Glenn Ligon sits down with Mirsini Amidon, the daughter of the late painter Jack Whitten, and the writer and professor Dr. Kellie Jones. If you keep a running list of things to do in Los Angeles that cost nothing and still feel like an occasion, put this one on it.

Two shows, one conversation

The talk marks the openings of "Glenn Ligon. Sit So Your Back Isn't Against The Door" and "Jack Whitten. The Numinous." The three speakers will get into how both artists handle history, abstraction, Black identity, authorship and spirituality.

Ligon's show centers on his Coloring Book paintings, a side of his work you don't see often. He started the series during a 1999 to 2000 residency at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The source material was children's coloring pages from Afrocentric coloring books printed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Kids colored them in however they liked, and Ligon blew those loose, unruly marks up into big canvases.

Whitten's show picks up after a 1980 fire in his studio. He came back to painting harder than before. Expect the Soulspace paintings, round acrylic reliefs, grids that look almost like pixels, and Site paintings cast off city surfaces like manhole covers and tire treads. There are frottage works on paper too.

Having Amidon on stage matters here. She can speak to Whitten as a father and a working painter, which is something a catalog essay can't do. Jones brings decades of writing on Black artists in America, so the conversation should range well past the wall labels.

After the talk

Once the conversation wraps, the galleries open for a first look and the reception moves to the Courtyard. DJ As Is is on the music, and Manuela is running a cash bar, so bring a card if you want a drink.

Practical info

• When: Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 6 pm to 7 pm
• Where: Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, 901 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
• Cost: Free. Reservations are recommended, and the event listing links to registration.

The gallery is in the Arts District, on East 3rd Street. Street parking gets tight on reception nights, so give yourself extra time or grab a rideshare. Little Tokyo/Arts District station on the Metro A and E lines is about a 15-minute walk.

For more things happening in Los Angeles, from gallery nights to artist talks, browse our arts and culture listings or check what's coming up around Los Angeles. Hauser & Wirth openings tend to draw a crowd, so reserve early.