Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

05/22/2026

Presented by: Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

Over 450 Contemporary Artists Inspired by Literature Featured 
in MCLA’s Summer Exhibition

Where Books Become Art: 
“We’re Very Well Read, It’s Well Known”

Exhibition Dates: May 23 – September 6, 2026

L-R Donna Isham painting of Herman Hesse’s SIDDHARTHA, Jorge R.Gutierrez painting Ernest Hemmingway’s DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON, 
Abel Alejandre painting of Charles Bukowski’s HAM ON RYE.

Opening Reception
The public is invited to attend the opening celebration

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Time: 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

LOS ANGELES, CA — This summer, the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles transforms literature into a sprawling contemporary art experience with We’re Very Well Read, It’s Well Known, an extraordinary group exhibition bringing together more than 450 contemporary artists in a celebration of books, storytelling, and visual imagination.

Opening Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 260 South Main Street, Downtown Los Angeles, the ambitious exhibition invites each participating artist to reinterpret a favorite literary work onto a single 9” x 6” fine art panel — the dimensions of a traditional book. The result is a monumental “visual library” where novels, poems, manifestos, memoirs, and cultural touchstones are reimagined through painting, drawing, sculpture, abstraction, muralism, pop surrealism, and conceptual art.

Intimate in scale yet vast in scope, the exhibition offers audiences a rare glimpse into the literary influences behind some of the most celebrated and provocative voices working in contemporary art today. From personal tributes to iconic texts to playful, political, and deeply emotional interpretations, the exhibition reveals the enduring power of literature to inspire visual culture.

Among the participating artists are legendary Los Angeles muralist Kent Twitchell; award-winning animator and painter Jorge R. Gutierrez; contemporary figurative artist Donna Isham; acclaimed draftsman Abel Alejandre; pioneering muralist and musician Willie Herrón III; subversive painter Kim Di**le; Emmy-nominated character designer and sculptor Dave Pressler; surrealist master Laurie Lipton; celebrated painter and cultural provocateur Mark Steven Greenfield; street art icon Ron English; minimalist artist Roy Thurston; renowned public sculptor Peter Shelton; groundbreaking performance artist Karen Finley; Los Angeles expressionist Gronk; painter and poet Marjorie Welish; abstract painter Andy Moses; narrative-driven visual chronicler Sandow Birk; and painter Salomon Huerta, alongside hundreds of established and emerging artists from across the contemporary art landscape.

Curated by Mat Gleason, the exhibition blurs the boundaries between reader and artist, asking viewers to consider how literature shapes memory, identity, politics, fantasy, and creative expression. “This exhibit rewards curiosity,” says Gleason. “Each piece is a window into the imagination of the artist and the accomplishment of the writer who inspired them. You’ll see artists exalting literature in ways that are humorous, personal, emotional, intellectual, and visually unforgettable.”

FULL LIST OF ARTISTS HERE
Opening Reception
The public is invited to attend the opening celebration for this unprecedented exhibition.

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Time: 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

Address: 260 South Main Street, Downtown Los Angeles

Exhibition Dates & Public Hours
We’re Very Well Read, It’s Well Known will remain on view throughout the summer.

Exhibition Dates: May 23 – September 6, 2026

Public Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, Noon – 6:00 p.m.

About the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles
The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles is dedicated to preserving, restoring, and documenting the city’s rich mural heritage while supporting contemporary artistic dialogue through exhibitions, public programming, and cultural initiatives in the heart of Historic Downtown Los Angeles. For more information visit: https://www.themcla.org/

Press contact:
Jennifer Gross | Evolutionary Media Group
[email protected]
323-646-8412

04/02/2026

Hanging with the incomparable Mat Gleason, aka Mr Coagula, today at HQ. Checking out a Gil Ortiz photo of a Kent Twitchell mural of Lita Albuquerque prior to a Will Herron restoration.

10/03/2025

The work of preservation isn't always glamorous, but it's always worth it. Eloy Torrez and Art Mortimer working on the restoration of Torrez's "Pope of Broadway". Unpictured: Council District 14... City of Los Angeles DCA...Isabel Rojas-Williams...Gil Ortiz...and Anthony Quinn.

09/16/2025

We ran across these photos from the 2012 restorations of the 1984 Olympics Freeway Murals. Great work by everyone involved, starting of course with the artists.

03/04/2023

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 from 2pm-4pm at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum
(Optional) Mural viewing from 1:00pm-1:30pm at the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles Headquarters. RSVP for this panel discussion through (recommended) Eventbrite link in bio.

03/04/2023

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 from 2pm-4pm at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum
(Optional) Mural viewing from 1:00pm-1:30pm at the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles Headquarters. RSVP for this panel discussion through (recommended) Eventbrite link in bio.

02/20/2023

Now for the understatement: This is going to be good…

Taiji Terasaki, "Recipes to Nourish the Planet"
Mural Unveiling and Reception at Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles (MCLA)
260 S. Main St., Los Angeles,Feb 25, 2-4pm
https://www.themcla.org/

The mural project highlights and features local activists, artists, and organizations, such as Alma Backyard Farms, The Ron Finley Project, Fallen Fruit, and the LA Mission. the mural explores different modalities of providing nourishing help and will include an AR component.

There will also be a companion panel discussion with the artist, Ron Finley, Austin Young, David Allen Burns, Erika Cuellar, Richard D. Garcia, Troy Vaughn, and moderated by Art Critic Shana Nys Dambrot at the Japanese American National Museum on Sunday, March 5 at 2pm, 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles.

Taiji Terasaki: www.taijiterasaki.com

09/05/2022

Recent article about restoration of the "200 Years of Freedom" mural in Corona. MCLA was one of the Plaintiffs in the underlying lawsuit that was eventually decided against them. But the community of volunteers and local federal and state agencies have worked with the parties to the case to bring this back to its original state. What started as a lawsuit ended as a community event. Some things are bigger than lawsuits can handle.

The original was conceived of and painted by students from a different time, but a time of turmoil. The country coming out of an unpopular war, inflation, high gas prices...eerily familiar. But some high school kids could get together and paint a message in simple block letters that would be enjoyed by millions of people over the years. So much so that there would be a fight with the federal government to keep the image alive. It's symbolic that such a profound image is at the intersection of freeways linking Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Over seven years ago, the Board of the MCLA took about 10 seconds to decide to get involved with this project. It was exactly what we like to do -- help people in communities protect art that means something to them. This was truly a no-brainer. Community activists had already gathered tens of thousands of signatures and were strongly united. They just needed some direction and time. Maybe they got too much time -- some of the volunteers have passed away in the interim, and they are sorely missed. But things do get done if everyone works together. That might seem cliched these days when the pot-stirrers fight for our attention, but the pot-stirrers have yet to prove this cliche wrong.

Artwork created by Corona High School students in 1976 and visible off the 91 Freeway has fallen into disrepair over the years.