Vincent Price Art Museum Presents before you now: capturing the self in portraiture
June 1, 2025
On View: June 21 – Aug. 30, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 21, 4 to 6 p.m.
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – Opening June 21, 2025, the Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) proudly presents Before You Now: Capturing the Self in Portraiture.
Organized as part of LACMA’s Art Bridges Initiative, Before You Now focuses on the enduring themes of the artist’s self-portrait, as seen in a selection of works from LACMA’s collections of photographs, prints, drawings, videos, and installation art. Primarily featuring contemporary makers, the exhibition is an introduction to seeing American artists as they see themselves—or as they want to be seen by their public. They are shown contemplating their physicality in realistic fashion, highlighting their persona through symbolic tropes, or utilizing humor or conceptual methods to enlighten, exaggerate, or camouflage their reflective selves.
Over 50 artists—including Laura Aguilar, Kwame Brathwaite, Kalli Arte Collective, Jennifer Moon, Roger Shimomura, Cindy Sherman, Rodrigo Valenzuela, and June Wayne—display an ongoing fascination with, or return to, the self-portrait. Before You Now aims to broaden the topic to include many whose practice leans into an autobiographical narrative, and explores artists who are adding to and redefining our culture by expanding on ideas of identity.
The exhibition’s opening will be celebrated with a reception on Saturday, June 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. Admission is free, no reservations required. In preparation for the reception, the Museum will be closed during the day on June 21.
Public programs related to the exhibition will include artist and curator talks and a community art workshop. Details and dates will be announced soon on the VPAM website.
Before You Now was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in collaboration with the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College; Riverside Art Museum; Lancaster Museum of Art and History; and California State University, Northridge, Art Galleries.
Local Access is a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by LACMA as part of the Art Bridges Initiative.
All exhibitions at the Vincent Price Art Museum are underwritten by the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation and East Los Angeles College.
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About Vincent Price Art Museum
The Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College serves as a unique educational resource for the diverse audiences of the college and the community through the exhibition, interpretation, collection, and preservation of works in all media of the visual arts. VPAM provides an environment to encounter a range of aesthetic expressions that illuminate the depth and diversity of artwork produced by people of the world, both contemporary and past. By presenting thoughtful, innovative, and culturally diverse exhibitions and by organizing cross-disciplinary programs on issues of historical, social, and cultural relevance, VPAM seeks to promote knowledge, inspire creative thinking, and deepen an understanding of and appreciation for the visual arts. Learn more about VPAM at VPAM.org.
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About East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is the largest of nine two-year community colleges within the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). More information about ELAC is available online at www.elac.edu. Follow ELAC on social media at Facebook @EastLACollege, X/Twitter @EastLACollege, and Instagram @ELACHuskies.
For VPAM press inquiries, please contact Katie Dunham, Katie Dunham Communications, at katie@katiedunham.net.
Image: Jennifer Moon, You can kill my body, but you can’t kill my soul, 2013. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection, © Jennifer Moon, courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council, photo by Patrick Connor.