From Sam Francis’ sunny canvases to Ed Kienholz’s dystopic installations, the LA art scene is a study in extremes. “Sunshine & Noir: Art in L.A. 1960-1997,” curated by the Louisiana’s Helle Crenzien and Lars Nittve, is a broad survey of work by forty-nine artists that attempts to present art from the city the catalogue calls the “capital of visuality” in all its complexity. The show features works by such influentual figures as John Baldessari, James Turrell, Bruce Nauman, and Edward Ruscha as well as those by emergent artists including Jason Rhoades, Diana Thater, Catherine Opie, and Jennifer Pastor. May 16-Sept. 7; travels to Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany, Oct. 10-Jan. ’98; and later that year to London, Rivoli, and Los Angeles

— Daniel Birnbaum