LACY SOTO | DATE 8/2/2025

Artbook at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles presents Ron Finley launching 'The Gangsta Gardener' with Glenn Kaino

Saturday, August 2, at 5 PM, join Artbook at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles in the Hauser & Wirth Downtown LA Garden to celebrate the launch of Ron Finley: The Gangsta Gardener, published by DelMonico Books and Hammer Museum.
Q & A, followed by a signing.
Event livestreamed on Instagram @artbookhwla.
Please RSVP for the event and pre-order a signed copy here.

Ron Finley is a visionary designer, horticulturalist and artist, who has changed the perception of concrete spaces using only a seed and a shovel. Known as the "Gangsta Gardener," Finley's transformative work in South Central Los Angeles has redefined what it means to grow food and regenerate communities. His gardening initiatives through the Ron Finley Project reclaim and redesign neglected urban spaces such as abandoned lots, shelters, traffic medians and curb strips. This enables Finley to bring fresh, organic produce to food deserts, while also sparking local and international movements toward food sovereignty and communal reciprocity. This volume chronicles Finley's community work, illuminating how he encourages underserved communities to take charge of their own self-determination, using shovels as an antidote to the oppressive designs of urban infrastructure. Growing out of the Hammer Museum's group exhibition Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice—in collaboration with the Getty's region-wide initiative PST ART—the volume builds on critical and timely questions around climate change and its inescapable intersection with issues of equity and social justice.

Glenn Kaino was born in 1972 in Los Angeles. His studio practice includes sculpture, painting, filmmaking, performance, installation, and large-scale public work. He also operates outside the traditional purview of contemporary art, instigating collaborations with other modes of culture—ranging from tech to music to political organizing.


ARTBOOK AT HAUSER & WIRTH LOS ANGELES BOOKSTORE
'Ron Finley: The Gangsta Gardener' Book Launch & Artist's Talk with Glenn Kaino
Saturday, August 2, 5 PM
917 East 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 213-988-7413
Click here to RSVP and pre-order a signed copy