MOCA Gala 2025: BVLGARI Partners with MOCA to Celebrate Art, Innovation, and Legacy

 The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is gearing up for its highly anticipated annual Gala on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Los Angeles’ vibrant Little Tokyo. This year’s event, presented in partnership with luxury brand BVLGARI, promises to be a landmark occasion as MOCA introduces its new MOCA Legends format. The evening will honor three transformative figures—Theaster Gates, Frank Gehry, and Wendy Schmidt—whose contributions have shaped MOCA’s legacy as a global leader in contemporary art.

Honoring MOCA Legends

The 2025 Gala marks the debut of the MOCA Legends initiative, a new tradition celebrating individuals who have profoundly influenced the museum’s mission and the broader cultural landscape. This year’s honorees are:

• Theaster Gates, an artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, performance, and urban planning. Gates’ 2011 solo exhibition at MOCA Geffen was a milestone, and his work continues to redefine how art engages with community and history.

• Frank Gehry, the legendary architect whose 1983 renovation of The Geffen Contemporary pioneered adaptive reuse and set the stage for MOCA’s bold exhibitions. Gehry’s innovative designs, from dynamic buildings to sculptural furniture, remain iconic.

• Wendy Schmidt, a philanthropist whose transformative support has fueled initiatives like the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize, launching at MOCA in 2025 with projects by artists Cecilia Vicuña and Julian Charrière.

As MOCA Board President Carolyn Clark Powers notes, “We’re proud to position the MOCA Gala moving forward as a platform to recognize legends like Theaster, Frank, and Wendy, who have radically transformed everything we do.”

A Night of Art and Celebration

The Gala will bring together artists, philanthropists, and luminaries from the entertainment and fashion worlds for an unforgettable evening. Guests will kick off the night with a cocktail reception in the Aileen Getty Plaza, where they can experience a special viewing of Olafur Eliasson: OPEN, an immersive exhibition exclusive to the event. The evening will culminate in a seated dinner, accompanied by a performance from GRAMMY-nominated artist Tierra Whack, whose critically acclaimed 2024 album World Wide Whack has solidified her as one of today’s most dynamic voices in music.

MOCA’s collaboration with BVLGARI underscores a shared commitment to creativity and innovation. “MOCA’s bold spirit and dedication to contemporary creativity mirror our own passion for craftsmanship,” said Herve Perrot, BVLGARI North American President. This partnership not only elevates the Gala but also reinforces BVLGARI’s long-term support for Los Angeles’ thriving art community.

Funds raised at the Gala will directly support MOCA’s ambitious programming, including its world-class exhibitions, education initiatives, and operational needs. With nearly 8,000 objects in its collection and a history of groundbreaking shows, MOCA remains a vital hub for contemporary art, thanks to the generosity of its supporters.

Rei Kawakubo at the Met Gala Reignites the "Fashion vs. Art" Debate

On Monday May 1 fashion's elite turned out for the annual Met Gala, the event of the season for celebrities and designers lucky enough to be on the guest list. The Gala is the place to see and be seen and the gown or suit worn can make or break your style and image for years to come. Each year, the met gala has a theme and honors a designer who has had a profound impact on the fashion industry.

This year the theme was  called "the art of the inbetween" and guests were encouraged to dress in outfits that reflected the work of Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo. The Japanese designer, who founded the brand in 1973, is only the second living designer to be honored with an exhibition at the Met Gala Costume Institute. In this Vogue interview with the Met's Costume Institute Director, Alex Bolton explained his choice saying, “Rei Kawakubo is one of the most important and influential designers of the past forty years, By inviting us to rethink fashion as a site of constant creation, recreation, and hybridity, she has defined the aesthetics of our time.”

The designer's work has often been cited as innovative and anti-fashion over the years and her couture designs are characterized by large bulges and intentional wear and tear. She is also credited with making black an avante-garde fashion statement and it has been a popular color for her line over the years. She is notoriously reclusive as many artists are and, although her business was reported to have made over $220 million a year she has said she doesn't care if her clothes sell or not. That sentiment has become even more evident in her designs since her announcement that she was "done making clothes" in 2014.

A post shared by Timothy Tate (@timothy.o.tate) on May 2, 2017 at 7:39pm PDT

Many guests chose to honor the theme and wear vintage Comme des Garcons pieces while others chose to make obvious statements with their looks in reference to the Comme des Garcons brand's history of challenging traditional fashion and social norms.

Guests with obviously avant-garde looks like Katy Perry and Rihanna were praised on the front page of fashion and celebrity publications everywhere Tuesday morning as best dressed of the night. 

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Even celebrities who weren't wearing CDG or custom designs but, who had obvious statement pieces and artistic themes to their looks like Kendall and Kylie Jenner or Jaden Smith were at the top of the list. While these celebrities definitely incorporated the themes of the brand on the red carpet other guests who opted for more traditionally beautiful designs like Mindy Kaling and Kim Kardashian were accused of being off-theme in some cases. However according to a Women's Wear Daily Twitter poll 44% of respondants voted for Kim Kardashian when asked who wore white best. 

Who wore white the best at the #MetGala 2017?

— WWD (@wwd) May 2, 2017

This divide isn't new to the fashion industry and the argument over "mainstream fashion" and designers who believe the purpose of fashion is to defy and innovate in an artistic way has been debated by many in the industry. Rei Kawakubo's designs took flight in a time of punk rebellion when the fashion industry began to acknowledge street style and cede some of the runway's authority to the anti-fashion crowd because of designers like Vivienne Westwood. 

Today the Met's exhibition opens against a backdrop of the competing forces of fast fashion and luxury industries where true craft and brand identity often get lost in the quest for the consumers' and  even more so the media's increasingly fickle tastes. 

The industry continues to discuss whether fashion is truly art or purely a business and when standing in a museum full of avant-garde designs with labels like object/subject and self/other it can seem hard to debate the former. However, the exhibition also included designs from the pre-2014 days of Comme des Garcons with pieces from collections where Rei Kawakubo explored themes like mixing Japanese tradition with Western dress. Rei Kawakubo herself was even quoted in 2015 as saying, "When fashion is driven by creation, I suppose it can be called an art form. But I have no concept of art in my work. Clothes are only completed when somebody actually wears them. If they were art, they could be more abstract. As long as something is new and has never been seen before, I don't mind if people call it art. Wear them if you dare. " in Interview Magazine. 

A post shared by l s j (@linesander_) on May 3, 2017 at 12:12am PDT

"Fashion is art that we live in" is another relevant quote that comes to mind here and in this case I think the "live in" part is particularly important. Fashion is something that most people can't escape even if they vehemently detest the "traditional" industry. And in fact the Fashion vs. art juxtaposition is something that makes the industry uniquely able to serve consumers from all backgrounds. While making art and challenging cultural concepts requires constantly being new and revolutionary putting on an outfit every morning and using your income to buy pieces you like is a relatively simple and compulsory task for most people. And don't the choices we make about what clothes to wear, however simple, make a statement about our personalities or even just our feelings in that particular moment? 

It has been said that for a work to be considered great art it must capture a time, a place, and a feeling, and a look at a Vogue cover from the 1960s or maybe even your mother's prom photo shows that a great outfit has all three. Fashion is a business, a multi-billion dollar business to be exact, having clothes is a necessity and, companies make money when people decide they need more clothes. But, people also have a need for expression and fashion offers the ability to express oneself in even the smallest way, sometimes subconsciously, which is perhaps the most important and authentic form of expression. Even those who lament the unimportance of fashion are making a statement in their own way while, for the majority that falls somewhere into ambiguity and vague curiosity the "art of the inbetween" can be found in the little everyday moments of inspiration that strike when we least expect it. 

Los Angeles Art Scene: Holiday Gallery reception in Santa Monica

Last Saturday I was invited to attend a gallery opening in Santa Monica at a collection of galleries called Bergamot Station. I wasn't sure what to expect as I had never been to this gallery before, but when I arrived at the event the parking lot was full and the galleries were crowded with people having a great time shopping for art from the amazing artists that were exhibiting. First I headed over to the Schomburg Gallery where I was invited to a holiday reception for the new exhibition by the artist Cindy Ingrahm Keefer. The small gallery is located at the top of a tiny staircase and overlooks the street. A combination of 3D sculptures and paintings decorated the room. The brightly colored abstract works brightened up the space and the intricate detail of the landscapes was captivating. Each piece had a story behind it and many of the works were inspired by the artist’s travels around the world. Any piece from this collection would brighten up a space and I suspect success from this showing.

I interviewed the artist and she explained to me her inspiration for the blue and green abstract; it represents the view she had while flying over the ocean on her way back from Costa Rica.

She painted the picture of Sacre Couer in Paris and said she loved playing with the color scheme.

This picture, a big hit with crowd, depicts a group of Brahminas she observed while in Costa Rica. Many people commented on the interesting personalities in their faces.

I loved the quality of light in this painting and the clouds are beautiful. The luminescence really make the viewer feel like they’re there.

These were some of my favorite works. I love the bright colors and bold lines and shapes. The artist explained that she was using a drip technique to create the movement in the painting. I think any of these pieces would serve as a great centerpiece in a modern decorating scheme.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these works you can contact he gallery at susan@schomburggallery.com.

After I had finished looking upstairs I wandered downstairs through some of the other galleries. I was impressed with the variety of work that I saw. There was everything from photography to surrealism and even some interactive art. I really enjoyed the local artists who showcased their California inspired work.

Venice is well known as an art hub here in Los Angeles and there were many interesting pieces from Venice artists throughout the display. I noticed that many artists focused on sunsets or sunrises and also enjoyed the miniatures that the artists featured.

I loved this exhibit by Artist Holly Boruck. Her surrealist-inspired works were a refreshing break from many of the dark modernist styles I saw. Her collection seemed to tell a story and I could tell that each piece had a message behind it. 

Next I was invited to try out this psychedelic looking structure. The artist Matt Elson explained that he creates these infinity boxes and each one has a different purpose. This particular one used reflections to layer each of the viewer’s faces over each other. I really enjoyed this interesting interactive art. This is just one example of a larger trend that is happening in the art world today with a push by artists to involve the viewer in their art. I think we will see continue to see more of this type of art as we enter 2016.

Another interesting exhibit I liked was the photography collection. There were many interesting photographs that had been digitally enhanced. I loved the nod to pop art with black and neon pink portrait of Marilyn Monroe. There were also several photographs focused on more modern trends such as the screenshot of this Instagram post with comments. I loved the commentary on our digital world.

I would definitely recommend Bergamot station for anyone who is looking for quality local Los Angles art.