LOS ANGELES, CA.-The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles, presents Damián Ortega - The Beetle Trilogy and Other Works, on view through January 9, 2006. Mexican artist Damián Ortega (b. 1967) is best known for taking elements of everyday life and transforming them into hybrid forms that gain new meaning. MOCA presents the Los Angeles premiere of Cosmic Thing (2002), a disassembled and suspended 1976 Volkswagen Beetle which joined MOCA's permanent collection in 2002. This work recalls a mechanical brochure or dissected insect, here realized in three dimensions. Cosmic Thing is presented in collaboration with a survey of Ortega's work from the past decade on view at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) Gallery, which will feature additional works from The Beetle Trilogy. The exhibition is organized by Associate Curator Alma Ruiz, who will also contribute an essay to the REDCAT Gallery publication.

Damián Ortega: The Beetle Trilogy and Other Works is a collaboration with The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, REDCAT. MOCA's presentation is made possible by the Jumex Fund for Contemporary Latin American Art and Mandy and Clifford J. Einstein. In-kind support is provided by Tu Ciudad magazine. REDCAT's exhibition and publication are made possible by the generous support of La Colección Jumex. Additional support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, kurimanzutto, White Cube and CONACULTA.