What a Wonderful World / Julia Stoschek Foundation in Los Angeles

Why It Matters

Introducing the Foundation’s audiovisual program to the U.S. elevates Los Angeles as a hub for experimental media and signals growing collector interest in video art as a high‑value asset.

Key Takeaways

• First U.S. presentation of Julia Stoschek Foundation’s program
• Curated blend of contemporary video and early cinema
• Features artists like Lu Yang, Jordan Wolfson, Arthur Jafa
• Hosted at historic Variety Arts Theater, Los Angeles
• Runs Feb 6‑Mar 20 2026, expanding foundation’s global reach

Pulse Analysis

The Julia Stoschek Foundation, established in 2008, has built a reputation for championing cutting‑edge video and media art. By bringing its "What a Wonderful World" program to Los Angeles, the foundation taps into a city known for its film heritage while introducing a curated audiovisual experience that challenges conventional exhibition formats. The choice of the Variety Arts Theater—a landmark venue with a storied past in cinema—reinforces the dialogue between historic moving‑image practices and contemporary digital experimentation.

Curator Udo Kittelmann’s selection weaves together works from emerging and established video artists alongside early 20th‑century film pioneers. Pieces by Lu Yang, Jordan Wolfson, and Arthur Jafa sit beside Méliès’ "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" and Disney’s "The Skeleton Dance," creating a narrative that highlights the evolution of visual storytelling. This juxtaposition not only underscores technical progress but also invites viewers to reconsider the lineage of visual culture, positioning video art as a continuum rather than a niche.

For the Los Angeles art market, the exhibition signals a shift toward greater institutional support for media art, attracting collectors, curators, and technologists alike. The timing aligns with a surge in museum acquisitions of video works and a growing appetite for immersive experiences. As the show runs through March 2026, it is poised to influence programming decisions across the city, encouraging other venues to explore similar cross‑generational audiovisual projects and reinforcing LA’s status as a global center for innovative art presentation.

Original Description

In this film we take you on a tour through the Julia Stoschek Foundation's exhibition “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem” at the historic Variety Arts Theater in Los Angeles. Curated by Udo Kittelmann, the show brings together contemporary video works by artists such as Lu Yang, Jordan Wolfson, and Arthur Jafa, and early cinema classics by Walt Disney, Georges Méliès, and Charles Reisner. It's the first presentation of works from the Julia Stoschek Foundation in the USA. “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem” runs from February 6 to March 20, 2026. What a Wonderful World / Julia Stoschek Foundation in Los Angeles. Variety Arts Theater, Los Angeles, February 18, 2026.

00:00 - Les Innombrables: Shadow Play Trouvé (not part of the show)

00:48 - Lu Yang: Doku the Flow

02:30 - Jeremy Shaw: Quickeners

03:05 - Wolfgang Tillmans: Heartbeat/Armpit

03:41 - Kader Attia: Mimesis as Resistance

04:31 - Paul Chan: Happiness…

05:53 - Georges Méliès: Le Voyage Dans La Lune

06:58 - Max Skladanowsky: Mr. Delaware and the Boxing Kangaroo

08:19 - Precious Okoyomon: It’s Dissociating Season

09:43 - Charles Reisner: Steamboat Bill, Jr.

10:10 - Monica Bonvicini: Hammering Out (An Old Argument)

11:22 - Jacolby Satterwhite: Shrines

12:57 - Jespef Just: Something to Love

14:00 - Christoph Schlingensief: Affenführer

14:44 - Jordan Wolfson: Artists Friends Racists

17:41 - Cyprien Gaillard: Cities of Gold and Mirrors

19:23 - Maya Deren: Meditation on Violence

20:12 - Alex McQuilkin: Get Your Gun Up

21:18 - Klara Lidén: Untitled (Trashcan)

21:57 - Travers Vale & George Cowl: Betsy Ross

23:12 - Ana Mendieta: Anima, Silueta di Cohetes

24:26 - Jon Rafman: Oh, the humanity

25:40 - Ulysses Jenkins: Mass of Images

26:29 - Nina Simone: Sinnerman

27:29 - Bunny Rogers: Mandy’s Piano Solo in Columbine Cafeteria

28:47 - Paul McCarthy: Ma Bell

29:29 - Anne Imhof: Untitled (Wave)

29:56 - Sigalit Landau: Barbed Hula

30:16 - Luis Buñuel: Un Chien Andalou

31:09 - Alice Guy-Blaché: Les Résultats du Feminisme

31:54 - Robert Boyd: Xanadu

35:05 - xxx

35:41 - P. Staff: Pure Means

36:11 - Mark Leckey: Felix Gets Broadcasted

37:26 - Ant Farm & T.R. Uthco: The Eternal Frame

38:08 - Chris Burden: The TV Commercials

40:07 - Thomas Demand: Balloons

41:35 - Walt Disney: The Skeleton Dance

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Art TV pioneer Vernissage TV provides you with an authentic insight into the world of contemporary fine arts, design and architecture. With its two main series "No Comment" and "Interviews", art tv channel VernissageTV attends opening receptions of exhibitions worldwide, interviews artists, designers, architects. VTV provides art lovers with news, reports and features from the international art scene. VernissageTV: the window to the art world. Das Fenster zur Kunstwelt. La fenêtre sur le monde de l'art. A janela para o mundo da arte. La ventana al mundo del arte. نافذة على عالم الفن. 到艺术世界的窗口。Окно в мир искусства. Since 2005.