Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) showcases the work of iconic Los Angeles artists John Baldessari, Mike Kelley, Barbara Kruger and Ed Ruscha. Each of these artists has contributed to a wide-reaching and global art dialogue; they have also played key roles in shaping the art scene of Los Angeles and the city’s rise as a global arts capital. The Broad’s presentation includes nearly all the works in the Broad collection by each of these artists, including the immersive multimedia installation, Gym Interior (2005), by Kelley and the four-channel video installation, Twelve (2004), by Kruger, as well as mini-retrospectives of the work of Baldessari and Ruscha. The exhibition’s title is drawn from a monumental 1985 Baldessari work in the Broad collection, Buildings=Guns=People: Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog).

Featuring 81 artworks (more than half are on view for the first time at The Broad), the exhibition includes:

• 19 artworks by Baldessari in a mini-retrospective installation including important works from the beginning of the artist's career, such as Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell and The Spectator is Compelled... and late-career works like All Z's (Picabia/Mondrian): Zealot (2017); works on view for the first time include Horizontal Men (With One Luxuriating) (1984) and Junction Series: Two Landscapes, Birds (with People) and Soldiers (at Attention) (2002).
   
• 15 works by Kelley, including Gym Interior (2005), an immersive multimedia installation from the artist's Day is Done series, on view for the first time at The Broad.
   
• 7 works by Kruger, including the four channel video installation, Twelve (2004), which will be on view for the first time.
   
• 40 works by Ruscha in a mini-retrospective installation including key works like Norm's, La Cienaga, on Fire (1964) and works that have never been shown before at The Broad, Strong, Healthy (1987); Sunset-Gardner Cross (1988-99); and Psycho Spaghetti Western #3 and Pyscho Spaghetti Western #5 from the artist's series inspired by nineteenth-century painter Thomas Cole's The Course of Empire cycle.