Betye Saar: “Call and Response”

LACMA links preliminary sketches and finished works from the under-recognized SoCal artist, whose found object assemblage pieces address issues of race, gender and spirituality. Though not necessarily a retrospective, the single-room exhibition examines Saar’s core themes with sculptural constructions from 1968 to the present day. The works are powerful, with cages that recall minstrel shows and an ironing board emblazoned with the layout of a slave ship, and made all the more so by being able to glance over her sketchbook studies (Saar’s colorful travel sketchbooks are particularly beautiful).