New leader at MCA seeks to surprise and collaborate

A new art exhibition of works by Lara Favaretto at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara features car wash brushes -- the massive, colorful cylinders that smother your vehicle with soap as you cruise through. Add some see confetti flying in the air, and you’ve got the first show curated by the museum’s new executive director and chief curator.

Lara Favaretto, Coppie Semplici (Simple Couples), 2009. Courtesy Rennie Collection, Vancouver. Photo: Blaine Campbell.

Abaseh Mirvali (right) at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara for the opening of Lara Favaretto. Photo credit: Alex Blair.

Lara Favaretto, Tutti giù per terra (We all fall down), 2004. Photo credit: Carly Otness