Guillermo del Toro maintains a collection of horror props, books, and other curios in his home. Photograph by Josef Astor.
The monsters are coming.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has created the exhibition “Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters,” which will be on view from August 1, 2016 to November 27, 2016. Del Toro, an acclaimed filmmaker, said in a press release that “this exhibition presents a small fraction of the things that have moved me, inspired me, and consoled me as I transit through life.”
Visitors will have the opportunity to see a variety of objects from del Toro’s work, including sculpture, paintings, notebooks, and costumes. The exhibition will be organized around eight themes: Childhood and Innocence; Victoriana; Magic, Alchemy, and the Occult; Movies, Comics, Pop Culture; Frankenstein and Horror; Freaks and Monsters; and Death and the Afterlife.
“To find beauty in the profane. To elevate the banal. To be moved by genre,” del Toro said. “These things are vital for my storytelling.”
Britt Salvesen, curator of the exhibition, said that it analyzes the connection between the construction and staging of a film and the “commentaries about the social, psychological, and spiritual power of objects.”
Over his three-decade long career, del Toro has directed, written, or produced some of the most iconic horror films of all time, including “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Devil’s Backbone.” He has also worked on fantasy and science fiction films, such as “The Hobbit” trilogy and “Pacific Rim.”
On July 29, del Toro is also hosting a book signing at LACMA. The museum store will open at 11 a.m. for purchase of del Toro’s books, and the book signing will conclude at 6:30 p.m.
LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036.