Previously displayed thematically, the new presentation will be a chronological arrangement that follows the historical development of classical art from the Neolithic Period through the late Roman Empire (ca. 6000 BC–600 AD). With almost 3,000 square feet more gallery space and redesigned display cases, the new installation will also showcase the extraordinary artistic quality of the most important objects in the collection, such as the Statue of a Victorious Youth, which will now be viewed beside other works of art of similar date and style. Also new, one gallery dedicated to the “Classical World in Context,” featuring important long-term loans from major international museums of works of art representing the cultures that engaged with Ancient Greece and Rome.
To mark the opening of the newly reinstalled Getty Villa, the exhibition Plato in L.A.: Contemporary Artists’ Visions will feature some of today’s most celebrated artists, Paul Chan, Rachel Harrison, Huang Yong Ping, Jeff Koons, Joseph Kosuth, Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Whitney McVeigh, Raymond Pettibon, Adrian Piper, and Michelangelo Pistoletto, and explore the many ways in which they have engaged with Plato’s writings.