Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla gets Lifelike

Through May 27, Lifelike at MCASD La Jolla invites you to explore with one question in mind: “Is it real?” …Go ahead, take a closer look.

Is that a bag of trash or a marble sculpture? Leather or pleather? An eraser, or a piece of art? Lifelike invites you to take a closer look. Examine works of art based on commonplace objects and situations that are startlingly realistic, often playful, and sometimes even surreal. This group exhibition, which debuted at the Walker Art Center, features works emphasizing scale, unusual materials, and sly contextual devices to reveal the manner in which their subjects’ “authenticity” might be manufactured. Lifelike artists selected potentially overlooked items or moments as their subjects; from a paper bag or an eraser to an apple core or a waiting room, no subject was considered too ordinary or too mundane. Also favoring handmade, labor-intensive practices rather than technological enhancements, the artist were able to transform these ordinary items into something loaded with narrative and metaphor. Lifelike is on display through May 27. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla campus, 700 Prospect Street, La Jolla. 858.454.3541. mcasd.org/exhibitions/lifelike