The first exhibition of Mike Kelley's work since his tragic death on February 1 will open this Saturday at MOCA in Los Angeles. Titled "A Tribute to Mike Kelley," the exhibition will feature 23 of the 34 works by the artist in the museum's permanent collection. “Mike Kelley has had an immense influence on the art and artists of Los Angeles, and the community has been greatly enriched by his exhibitions and his work as an artist, musician, critic, curator, and art historian,” MOCA's chief curator Paul Schimmel said in a statement. “Mike had a profound impact on the world’s perception of Los Angeles art and artists. He was an intellectual force of nature, a real catalyst for a whole generation of artists.”
The quickly organized show will also feature works that Kelley donated to MOCA, including pieces by John Altoon, Cody Choi, Douglas Huebler, William Leavitt, Marnie Weber, and Johanna Went. Among the artist's own works on view are portions of his breakout performance and installation "Monkey Island" (1982-3), a sexually charged, multi-pronged work featuring inflatable bladders and monkey drawings inspired by a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo.
Kelley has been included in more than 20 permanent collection installations at the museum, and his work was among the first to be acquired by MOCA in its early years. His centrality to the Los Angeles art community was canonized in the legendary exhibition "Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the 1990s" and, more recently, in the Pacific Standard Time-affiliated show "Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981." He even once tried his hand at curating for MOCA, organizing an exhibition on the photographs of Diane Arbus in 2004.
Those looking to revisit Kelley's work outside of Los Angeles will have ample opportunities in the coming months. Three documentary films chronicling the project "Mobile Homestead," an unfinished replica of the artist's childhood home outside Detroit, will be featured in the 2012 Whitney Biennial in March. A retrospective of Kelley's work is also currently being organized by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. It will travel to MOCA in 2014.