Lauren Halsey
Growth#24
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
2/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
8/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
5/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
3/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Liquidity
- Market Depth
- Thin auction market given that primary market is heavily gallery-controlled. Phillips actively seeking consignments suggests collector interest in selling exceeds current supply.
- Annual Volume
- Low - approximately 2-4 lots per year at auction
- Sell Through Note
- Limited secondary market; most works held in collections or controlled through galleries
- Collector Base
- Profile
- Institutional and high-net-worth collectors. Works acquired by Met, Hirshhorn (Smithsonian), LACMA, Studio Museum in Harlem. Financial support for sister dreamer project came from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and artist-collectors including Charles Gaines, Rashid Johnson, and Mickalene Thomas.
- Demand Pattern
- Demand exceeds supply; gallery-controlled allocation
- Primary Market
- Access
- Gallery-controlled primary market; strong demand likely creates waiting lists
- Galleries
- David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles/New York)Gagosian (global)
- Pricing Note
- Primary market pricing not publicly disclosed. Contact David Kordansky Gallery or Gagosian for current pricing. Given Gagosian representation and museum-level demand, primary prices likely significantly above secondary market levels.
- Auction History
- Price Range
- Low
- 531
- High
- 127000
- Note
- Range across all auction results since 2022
- Currency
- USD
- Auction Record
- Year
- 2023
- Price
- $127,000
- Title
- Untitled
- Venue
- Sotheby's New York
- Currency
- USD
- Recent Activity
- 8 works offered at auction per MutualArt. Phillips actively soliciting consignments as of 2025.
- Total Lots Offered
- 8
- Market Position
- Segment
- Growth-tier artist with rapid institutional acceleration
- Trajectory
- Sharply ascending. 2024 was described as a 'banner year' with Venice Biennale, Serpentine, and Gagosian Paris. 2026 sees Hirshhorn acquisition, LACMA commissions, and permanent sculpture park.
- Comparable Artists
- Simone Leigh (similar trajectory from community-engaged practice to Venice/Gagosian)Kiyan WilliamsRashid Johnson
- Key Inflection Points
- 2018 Mohn Award at Hammer Museum ($100,000) - early breakout
- 2022-2023 Met Rooftop Commission - major institutional milestone
- 2023 Joined Gagosian - mega-gallery representation
- 2024 Venice Biennale main exhibition - global platform
- 2026 Hirshhorn acquisition and LACMA commission - Tier-1 museum validation
- Investment Outlook
- Strong upward trajectory. Dual representation by Gagosian and David Kordansky, combined with Tier-1 museum acquisitions (Met, Hirshhorn, LACMA) and major public commissions, positions Halsey for continued market appreciation. The combination of critical acclaim, institutional validation, and community-focused practice creates a compelling narrative for long-term value. Risk factors include thin secondary market and relatively early career stage (12 years since MFA).
Institutional Presence
- Exhibitions
- Major Solo
Title Year Venue we still here, there 2018 MOCA, Los Angeles Solo exhibition 2018-2019 Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris Solo exhibition 2020 David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles Solo exhibition 2021 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Solo exhibition 2021-2022 Seattle Art Museum The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey 2023 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Debut exhibition 2024 Gagosian Paris emajendat 2024-2025 (Oct 2024-Feb 2025) Serpentine Galleries, London sister dreamer 2026-2027 Western Avenue & 76th Street, South Central LA (with LAND) - Major Group
Title Year Venue Everything, Everyday: Artists in Residence 2014-2015 2015 Studio Museum in Harlem Exhibition 2016 MoMA, New York Made in L.A. 2018 2018 Hammer Museum, Los Angeles Foreigners Everywhere (60th Venice Biennale) 2024 Arsenale, Venice - Biennials and Triennials
Year Venue Event 2018 Hammer Museum Made in L.A. 2018 2024 Arsenale 60th Venice Biennale
- Museum Collections
Institution Details Tier Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden Commission 2022-2023; work in permanent collection 1 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian) Acquired keepers of the krown (antoinette grace halsey), 2024. Glass fibre-reinforced concrete and mixed media. Joseph H. Hirshhorn Purchase Fund, 2026. To be displayed in renovated sculpture garden opening October 2026. 1 Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Commissioned two works for new David Geffen Galleries opening 2026. One purchased with funds from Blanchard Nesbitt family; another with funds from Allison and Larry Berg. 1 Studio Museum in Harlem Museum purchase with funds from Acquisition Committee, 2015 2 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Exhibited 2016 1 Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles Solo exhibition 2018: we still here, there 1 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Solo exhibition 2021 1 Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris Solo exhibition 2018/2019 1 - Upcoming Exhibitions
Title Dates Venue sister dreamer sculpture park On view through September/November 2027 South Central Los Angeles Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden reopening with Halsey acquisition October 2026 Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC LACMA David Geffen Galleries opening with commissioned works 2026 LACMA, Los Angeles - Awards and Recognition
Institution Year Award California Institute of the Arts 2011 Beutner Family Award of Excellence in the Arts — 2014 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Scholarship — 2015 Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant — 2017 William H. Johnson Prize Los Angeles Design Festival 2017 Edge Award Hammer Museum, Made in L.A. 2018 Mohn Award ($100,000) Frieze New York 2019 Frieze Artist Award ($25,000 from Luma Foundation) Seattle Art Museum 2021 Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize
Career & Biography
- Identity
- Gender
- Female
- Full Name
- Lauren Halsey
- Birth Year
- 1987
- Birth Place
- Los Angeles, California
- Nationality
- American
- Current Location
- South Central Los Angeles, California
- Instagram Handle
- @summaeverythang
- Education
Institution Years Notes Degree Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies — — High school diploma El Camino Community College, Torrance, CA 2005-2008 (approx. 5 years) Initially wanted to be a professional basketball player — California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) 2008-2012 Teachers included Charles Gaines BFA Yale University 2012-2014 — MFA - Career Timeline
Year Event 2014-2015 Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem 2015 Exhibition at Studio Museum; Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist grant 2016 Created float for Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in South Central LA; MoMA exhibition 2017 William H. Johnson Prize; Edge Award from LA Design Festival 2018 Solo show at MOCA Los Angeles (we still here, there); Made in L.A. at Hammer Museum; won $100,000 Mohn Award; solo at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2018/2019) 2019 Won Frieze Artist Award ($25,000 from Luma Foundation); Frieze New York 2020 Solo show at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles; launched Summaeverythang Community Center food distribution during COVID 2021 Solo show at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Seattle Art Museum Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize 2022-2023 Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden Commission: the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I), on view April-October 2023 2023 Joined Gagosian (global representation, shared with David Kordansky); auction record of $127,000 at Sotheby's New York 2024 Venice Biennale 60th edition main exhibition: keepers of the krown; Serpentine Galleries London solo show emajendat (Oct 2024-Feb 2025); Gagosian Paris debut show; named as 'banner year' by Artnet News 2026 Opened sister dreamer permanent sculpture park in South Central LA (March 2026); Hirshhorn Museum acquires work for sculpture garden; LACMA commissions and acquires two works for new David Geffen Galleries - Studio Practice
- Works from South Central LA where her family has lived for generations. Practice combines large-scale architectural sculpture with community engagement. Uses found, fabricated, and handmade objects. Describes her work as an attempt to 'summon a world suffused with an ethos of funk.'
- Artistic Context
- Influences
- Betye SaarOverton LoydMike KelleyDominique MoodyMark BradfordCharles Gaines (teacher at CalArts)
- Contemporaries
- Kiyan WilliamsRashid JohnsonMickalene ThomasSimone Leigh
- Community Practice
- Operates Summaeverythang Community Center in South Central LA, providing food distribution, community programs, and cultural resources. Deep commitment to neighborhood-based practice.
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Creates immersive, architecturally-scaled installations and sculptures that bridge sculpture and architecture. Work is graphically maximalist, combining carved relief, mixed media collage, and site-specific environmental design. Deeply rooted in the visual culture of South Central Los Angeles while referencing ancient Egyptian architectural forms (Hathoric columns, sphinxes, hieroglyphic-like carving).
- Evolution
- Early work focused on smaller-scale gypsum sculptures and community interventions (Kingdom Day Parade float, 2016). Scaled up dramatically with the Met Rooftop Commission (2022-2023), creating an open-air pavilion inspired by Egyptian architecture. Venice Biennale (2024) saw her develop the Hathoric column form at monumental scale. The sister dreamer sculpture park (2026) represents the culmination of nearly two decades of planning - her most ambitious integration of art, architecture, and community space.
- Influences
- Artistic
- Betye Saar (assemblage, Afrofuturism)Overton Loyd (Parliament-Funkadelic artist)Mike Kelley (LA-based installation)Dominique MoodyMark Bradford (LA community-engaged practice)Charles Gaines (teacher/mentor)
- Cultural
- Ancient Egyptian architecture (New Kingdom era)AfrofuturismFunk music and aesthetics (Parliament-Funkadelic)South Central LA vernacular culture (signs, murals, tags, flyers)Black church and community traditions
- Architectural
- Originally trained in architecture concepts; sister dreamer project conceived while an architecture student in 2006
- Signature Works
Title Year Venue the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I) 2022-2023 Met Rooftop Commission keepers of the krown 2024 60th Venice Biennale, Arsenale emajendat 2024 Serpentine Galleries, London sister dreamer 2026 South Central Los Angeles permanent sculpture park - Visual Language
- Densely layered surfaces covered with etched/carved text, names, drawings, logos, and cultural references. Egyptian-inspired architectural forms (columns, sphinxes, temple structures) reimagined with contemporary South Central LA iconography. Sculptures often feature portrait-like faces of community members, family, and activists. Psychedelic, maximalist aesthetic that she calls 'funk.'
- Themes and Subjects
- South Central Los Angeles community and cultureGentrification and displacement resistanceBlack cultural expression and vernacular aestheticsAncient Egyptian architecture as framework for contemporary Black identityQueer identity and visibilityWorking-class resilience and creativityArchiving community through art (signs, flyers, murals, tags)Utopian/visionary urbanism - 'fantastical spatial proposals'Funk as cultural and aesthetic ethos
- Movements and Periods
- Contemporary sculpture/installationAfrofuturismCommunity-engaged artSite-specific artFunk art (contemporary)Social practice
- Techniques and Mediums
- Scale
- Works range from collages (approx. 4x5 feet) to monumental architectural installations (Met Rooftop pavilion, 21-foot-tall Venice columns, full sculpture park)
- Techniques
- Architectural-scale sculptureRelief carving/etchingMixed media collageSite-specific installationEnvironmental design incorporating landscape elements (native plantings, fountains)
- Primary Mediums
- Glass fibre-reinforced concreteMixed media on foil-insulated foam and woodGypsumFound objectsFabricated and handmade objects
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Summary
- Widely acclaimed by major art publications and critics. Holland Cotter of The New York Times described the Met Rooftop commission as 'one of the best' of the museum's roof garden commissions, calling it 'a kind of space station/sanctuary.' Artnet News named 2024 a 'monumental year' for the artist. Extensive coverage in Artforum, Frieze, Los Angeles Times, W Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and The Art Newspaper.
- Key Reviews and Features
Year Publication Subject 2023 The New York Times Met Rooftop Commission 2024 Artnet News — 2019 Frieze — — Artforum — 2026 The Art Newspaper Hirshhorn acquisition 2026 Los Angeles Times sister dreamer sculpture park 2026 Harper's Bazaar — 2026 The Brooklyn Rail sister dreamer review 2019 W Magazine — 2019 Los Angeles Times — 2020 Los Angeles Times Summaeverythang community food distribution - List Inclusions and Editorial Signals
- Artnet News 'monumental year' recognition (2024) - equivalent to year-end artist-to-watch feature
- Mohn Award winner 2018 - selected from Made in L.A. biennial field
- Frieze Artist Award winner 2019 - selected by Frieze for special commission
- Publications and Media
- Scholarly Context
- Halsey's work is increasingly positioned within art-historical discourse around Afrofuturism, community-engaged practice, and the relationship between ancient Egyptian architectural forms and contemporary Black cultural expression. Antwaun Sargent (Gagosian director) describes her as 'an archivist at her core.'
- Major Media Coverage
- New York TimesLos Angeles TimesW MagazineHarper's BazaarArtforumFriezeArtnet NewsARTnewsThe Art NewspaperHyperallergicFAD MagazineHypebeastThe Brooklyn Rail
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Frieze New York 2019 (Frieze Artist Award winner); Art Basel and other major fairs through both galleries
- Representation
- Primary
Details Gallery Since Tier Type Announced October 2023. Gagosian represents Halsey worldwide. Debut show at Gagosian Paris in 2024. Antwaun Sargent is her point person at the gallery. Gagosian October 2023 1 Global representation David Kordansky Gallery represents Halsey in Los Angeles and was the gallery that initially helped build her career and market. David Kordansky Gallery Pre-2018 (early career gallery that helped establish her) 1 Los Angeles representation (co-representation with Gagosian)
- Geographic Reach
- Global through Gagosian (galleries in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, etc.) and strong US base through David Kordansky (Los Angeles, New York)
- Representation History
- Halsey has been with David Kordansky Gallery since her early career. The gallery supported her through major milestones including Made in L.A. 2018 and the Met Rooftop Commission. In October 2023, she added Gagosian as a global representative, a significant 'gallery upgrade' signal. The dual representation with both a top LA gallery and a mega-gallery is a strong market positioning move.
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