Timed to The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Oscars issue, the second edition of The Art of the Oscar opens Friday evening for art lovers and Oscar fanatics alike.
Displayed at AF Projects in Los Angeles until March 21, the multimedia portfolio, commissioned as a partnership between THR and writer and curator Michael Slenske, arrives just in time for the Oscars. The works are meant to reimagine and reinterpret “the formal, political, and anthropological concerns of the iconic golden statuette.”
Thirteen artists residing between Los Angeles and New York offered their reinvention of the iconic Hollywood object. Works from Grant Levy-Lucero, Kathryn Andrews, Ken Gun Min, Austyn Weiner, Elliott Hundley, Rob Pruitt, Drake Carr, Umar Rashid, Rogan Gregory, Conrad Ruiz, Sachi Moskowitz, Ellen Jong and Jess Valice.
In 2024, THR kicked off The Art of the Oscar by commissioning 11 leading artists — spanning North America, from L.A. to Guadalajara to New York City — to reimagine the Oscar himself. THR asked each artist to give their own version of an Academy Awards speech, with a behind-the-scenes look at what inspired their creations. Kenny Scharf’s acceptance speech was a hit for its succinct nature: “I want to thank everyone who ever helped me. Oh, it’s not for me. Byyeeee …”
Artists featured in last year’s exhibit included Scharf, Seth Bogart, Jose Davila, Trulee Hall, Chaz Guest, Vincent Pocsik, Polly Borland, Alake Shilling, Isabelle Brourman, Karl Haendel and Karon Davis. Last year’s exhibit was unveiled at Hollywood’s Jeffrey Deitch Gallery and exclusively in THR.
The 2025 The Art of the Oscar will be displayed from Feb. 21 to March 21 at AF Projects, with an artist reception being held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 21.
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