It's something like cultural alchemy: the sale of a single painting is set to pay for half of a new OMA-designed annex space for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, according to an announcement made today by the congregation. Donated by the philanthropist Audrey Irmas, the painting is a 1968 "blackboard" painting by the artist Cy Twombly.

Actually, according to predicted figures, the sale of the eight-foot-wide, grey-and-white painting would just about cover the $60 million price tag of the new building. As reported by the New York Times, the sale of a similar, but smaller, painting last year at Christie's brought in $69.9 million.



Irmas is a long-time congregant at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest in Lost Angeles and a historic center for the Jewish community.

“I am thrilled and honored to be a part of the new addition designed by the world renowned Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture at Wilshire Boulevard Temple," Irmas stated. 

According to the press release, the new structure is designed "in dialog" with the adjacent, historic 1929 Byzantine-Revival sanctuary, which was renovated recently. Named after its donor, the building will accommodate events and include a terrace overlooking the Temple's Byzantine dome. The design will be helmed by the New York branch of OMA under the guidance of Shohei Shigematsu and Jason Long.



OMA was selected to design the approximately 55,000-square-foot building after winning a competition against firms including as Kengo Kuma and Associates, Morphosis Architects, and Steven Holl Architects. It will be OMA's first religious structure, and it's first cultural building in Los Angeles.

 “Inspiring architecture is perhaps humankind’s most permanent and universal form of prayer," said Rabbi Steven Leder. "For Audrey to use the proceeds from the sale of an extraordinary and beloved work of art to create a public, iconic, contemporary, architectural masterpiece on the city’s most important boulevard is a powerful legacy for her, for our congregation, and for all of Los Angeles."

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