Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art Exhibition
The Torrance Art Museum (TAM) announces its first two exhibitions of the 2026 season, presenting a compelling and timely program that reflects the diversity, urgency, and creative vitality of contemporary art in Southern California – Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art and Nine Visions X Nine Artists. The exhibitions will be presented in TAM’s Main Gallery and Gallery Two.
When
Opening Reception: Saturday January 10th – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Exhibition: On view from January 10 – February 21, 2026
Moderated Discussion: Saturday, January 10 – 4:00 PM
Museum Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Admission to the Torrance Art Museum is free.
About the Exhibition
Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art opens in the Main Gallery, bringing together works by AMBOS Project, Polly Borland, Cassils, Robert Andy Coombs, Hugo Crosthwaite, Jay Lynn Gomez, Ken Gonzales-Day, Forrest Kirk, Laurie Lipton, Elana Mann, Narsiso Martinez, Patrick Martinez, Paul McCarthy, Dakota Noot, Zak Smith, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, and Steven Wolkoff.
The exhibition examines the relationship between art, censorship, and political power at a time when cultural institutions face increasing external pressure. Through a wide range of media and approaches, the artists address authoritarian influence, suppression of expression, and the ethical responsibilities of cultural production.
The exhibition’s title references the Nazi Party’s 1937 Degenerate Art exhibition, which sought to discredit and remove modern artists from public view. Defending Ethical Integrity reclaims the term “degenerate” as a statement of resistance and artistic autonomy.
Among the featured artists are Elana Mann and the collective AMBOS, whose works were previously altered or shut down by Pepperdine University administrators after being deemed “political” and inconsistent with institutional policy. Their inclusion underscores the exhibition’s focus on contemporary instances of censorship and institutional control.
Together, the artists in Defending Ethical Integrity: The New Degenerate Art explore art’s role as a platform for dissent, ethical inquiry, and social critique.