Temple to Art

In an art-world equivalent of burning sage, this summer an erstwhile grand man cave has been transformed into Bolivian American artist Donna Huanca’s first major institutional show in the United States, Obsidian Ladder, which opened June 28 at the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles. Huanca, who says her work is about creating femme gestures, is known for immersive environments: visitors and the space itself interplay with her sculptures, paintings, soundscapes, videos, and performers—in this case, nude models, covered with paint or slightly draped in textiles, who move slowly through the installation.

(which runs through December 1) explores ideas about skin, the body, and nature. Huanca says the title is meant to evoke “an image of a ladder made out of black stone extending into infinity.” She created the exhibition for the Marciano’s Theater Gallery, an unusual, 13,000-square-foot space that was originally designed for elaborate Masonic theatrical presentations. The