Particles and Waves examines how modern physics impacted the development of abstract art in postwar Southern California, from Man Ray’s paintings of mathematical models to Lee Mullican’s computer-inspired abstractions. In the 1920s scientists at Caltech, JPL, and Mount Wilson Observatory performed groundbreaking research in astronomy and particle physics. During and after World War II, the region remained at the forefront of scientific inquiry in theoretical physics and its applications in aerospace, industrial manufacturing, and communications technologies. Between 1945 and 1990, Los Angeles artists engaged deeply with these scientific ideas, mathematical theories, materials, and processes. The West Coast Minimalists and Light and Space artists—including Mary Corse, Fred Eversley, and James Turrell—made rigorous artistic and scientific studies of light and energy. Bettina Brendel and Helen Lundeberg explored issues of scale through their paintings of subatomic and astronomical subjects. Particles and Waves unites several generations of artists working in diverse materials and styles to visualize light, energy, motion, and time.