As LACMA prepares for the 2026 public opening of the new David Geffen Galleries, the future home of the museum’s permanent collection spanning a breadth of eras and cultures, we’re sharing 50 iconic artworks that will be on view in the building over the next 50 weeks in the series 50 Works 50 Weeks.
Lauren Halsey’s work incorporates a diverse range of influences, including ancient Egyptian iconography, Afrofuturism, and the imagery of her South Los Angeles neighborhood. For the David Geffen Galleries, LACMA commissioned the artist to create two artworks that reference Egyptian forms and subject matter while creating something entirely new.
The first is an imposing 10-foot reclining sphinx in a gallery featuring the cross influences of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Nubian culture. Halsey’s sculpture provides a striking anchor for this light-filled space with a view to Wilshire Boulevard. Several themes emerge in the space, especially the combination of Greek, Egyptian, and Roman deities, imagery, and artistic techniques. A second theme is the connection between Egypt and its southern neighbor, Nubia, where a different form of cultural blending took place. Nubian kings and their artisans copied the basic forms of pyramid tombs and temples and adopted some Egyptian deities, yet created a material culture that was highly original and sophisticated. Halsey’s large-scale work encourages viewers to think about the deeper heritage of our city.
Halsey also created a wall relief installed in one of the adjacent interior galleries devoted to the telling of early Egyptian creation stories, a complex hierarchy of deities, and funerary traditions. The Egyptians drew upon their immediate surroundings for the imagery populating their myths: circling hawks, gentle domestic cows, or long-necked ibis standing in the irrigated fields. Much of what we know about ancient Egyptians is derived from their burial practices and equipment, which are considered essential for the maintenance of a successful afterlife. Halsey captures her immediate environment in much the same way—careful observation of her surroundings, including the signs and symbols of her neighborhood. In keeping with her practice, the commissioned wall relief ties early Egyptian imagery to contemporary Los Angeles.