Hovering over palm-lined Wilshire Boulevard, the David Geffen Galleries—an undulating concrete-and-glass monolith—will open to members on Sunday, April 19, and to the public on May 4. The 110,000-square-foot gallery space, the centerpiece of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) campus, has been in the making for two decades.

Inside The Museum’s Multi-Hued Interior

A first look at the newly art-filled space on Wednesday revealed the scope and vision of the Brutalist design, and how LACMA’s extensive art collection pairs with the architecture.

Most visitors will use the elevators to ascend to the single level of gallery space that floats nearly 30 feet above. Instead, climb the mammoth front stairs—this is a building that’s meant to be felt as well as seen. The exertion from mounting the three flights serves as a humble introduction to the hulking, amoeba-like structure. Nearing the top, you begin to see Peter Zumthor’s vision, the man who designed the $724 million structure, named after entertainment titan David Geffen who donated $150 million to the project.

Rich in light from wall windows, many north-facing, the building curves along the landscape. Monumental in scope, it feels ponderous and heavy from all that pock-marked, streaked concrete, but at once airy given the glass and its elevation.

Once inside, the artwork beckons from all directions. Unlike other major metropolitan museums, there is no chronology here, no single path or through-line to follow, and no white-walled boxy galleries. A reconstructed 1766 room from Damascus, Syria is down the way from Carlos Almaraz’s fiery “Crash in Phthalo Green,” created in 1984.

Greek pottery is displayed on tables you can walk around—as if you’ve stopped by a master potter’s open house in Echo Park. Does it all make sense? Largely, and sometimes.

Along with art hung on outer walls, there are 27 inner themed galleries that act like sanctuaries for art.

Furthering that feeling are pigment-infused concrete walls that line interior galleries. Some are reddish-black, others have a charcoal or indigo hue. The concrete’s natural texture and imperfections show through, much like handmade paper, where irregularity is the point. The colors help enclose and enrich the spaces, which Zumthor calls “houses.” They’re also a needed break from the gray board-formed concrete that’s ever-present throughout the structure.

Sheer metal curtains line some windows to protect light-sensitive works. The material has been blasted with a microscopic layer of chrome atoms (a process called sputter-plated), to give it a steely-gray appearance—created by Japanese textile artist Reiko Sudō.

The window coverings act like a veil, turning city views beyond the windows into an artful shimmer.

A Museum That Beckons You To Wander

The museum is meant for wandering—the inaugural palm-sized 430-page catalogue is, in fact, called “Wander.”

“We live in modern Los Angeles where we're all interconnected, where migration and interconnectedness are so essential to our daily life,” said LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg director Michael Govan at a press opening on Wednesday. “That’s the kind of spirit here.” He likened strolling through the sprawling space as if “wandering through a park.”

Selections from LACMA’s collection of 155,000 objects spanning 6,000 years are on display—loosely arranged around the world’s oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, the only reference to museums’ traditional encyclopedic hierarchy. While some galleries loudly announce themselves through color (including those pigment-infused walls), other works are hung in arrangements on outer walls facing the windows. Easily overlooked, it’s here that some of LACMA’s outstanding treasures are found, including 9th-century B.C. Assyrian alabaster reliefs from King Ashurnasirpal II’s palace in Nimrud, Iraq.

Walking the length of the museum, a span of three football fields, is an art experience in itself. Beyond the wall windows, Los Angeles is on full display: the Hollywood Hills, La Brea Tar Pits, the futuristic glass-paneled dome of the Academy of Motion Pictures and other adjacent museums.

Looking down upon the Miracle Mile neighborhood as you enter the southern end of the building, you’ll see apartment buildings with courtyards, and homes with people mowing their front lawns and children playing.

A few steps later, traffic streams along Wilshire Boulevard, the art-studded galleries floating above it. Rounding curves, you find more curves outside the windows; the building was designed to look at itself. All told, it feels like an egalitarian stroll.

Beneath the structure and its generous overhangs, there’s plenty of shade, and more art as well. Alexander Calder’s 1964 work, “Three Quintains (Hello Girls)” is back on display, again anchored inside a pool and fountain as its creator intended. Auguste Rodin’s sculptures line the front sculpture garden along the north side of Wilshire Boulevard. Tony Smith’s monumental “Smoke,” a black aluminum, lattice-like structure, sits on the museum’s east campus.

Jeff Koons’ Split-Rocker, a 37-foot-tall living sculpture, anchors the campus south of Wilshire Boulevard. The large head is part pony, part dinosaur, creating a cubist effect—it harbors 50,000 live plants, many in bloom. Also at LACMA’s ground level: a theater, and spaces for education, retail and restaurants, including Erewhon at LACMA, the luxury grocer’s first partnership with a museum.

While LACMA’s opening gala on April 19 is an exclusive event, on June 20, the museum will host a free block party from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., which includes admission to the David Geffen Galleries. The day will include The Art Parade, a public procession of art on Museum Row—inspired by Jeffrey Deitch’s New York SoHo happening that ran from 2005 to 2008.