Marciano Art Foundation mixes contemporary art with freemasonry

Private museums showcasing contemporary art are booming. Over 300 have been built since 2000, mostly in South Korea and China. But in LA they are sprouting up too -- just think of the Broad Museum, the Main Museum in downtown's historic district, and the new Berggruen Institute that will be built by philanthropist and investor Nicolas Berggruen. Then, opening next week, we have the Marciano Art Foundation, founded by Guess co-founders Paul and Maurice Marciano.

Kulapat Yantrasast, founding partner and creative director of wHY,

and designer of the Marciano Art Foundation.

Photo by Frances Anderton

What makes this different from other private museums is the venue: it's housed in the imposing Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Hancock Park, designed in 1961 by Millard Sheets, and contains much of the decor and props left behind by the Masons.

DnA talks about what's behind this explosion in private museums, whether there's an audience for all this contemporary art, and how designer Kulapat Yantrasast responded to the legacy of Sheets and the Masons.