7/8/2001
UltraBaroque
SFMoMA, San Francisco
Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, this exhibition focuses on a critical re-reading of the Baroque in Latin America and its use by contemporary artists as an important cultural metaphor. Containing approximately seventy-five works by fifteen artists from South America, Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States, UltraBaroque explores cultural differences and the impact of globalization on visual thought.
Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, this exhibition focuses
on a critical re-reading of the Baroque in Latin America and its use by contemporary
artists as an important cultural metaphor. Containing approximately seventy-five
works by fifteen artists from South America, Mexico, the Caribbean and the United
States, UltraBaroque explores cultural differences and the impact of globalization on visual thought.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)’s
home, a $62-million building designed by Swiss architect
Mario Botta in association with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK), San Francisco,
opened on January 18, 1995, doubling the Museum’s gallery space for the presentation of the
permanent collection, traveling exhibitions and educational programming.
International in scope, SFMOMA’s permanent collection consists of over 15,000 works,
including 4,700 paintings, sculptures and works on paper; approximately 9,000 photographs;
1,500 architectural drawings, models and design objects; and a growing collection of works
related to the media arts.
Painting and Sculpture
The painting and sculpture collection represents Californian, American and international artists,
and is distinguished by major paintings by artists associated with American Abstract
Expressionism, notably Clyfford Still, Jackson Pollock and Philip Guston. Additional strengths of
the painting and sculpture collection include Fauvism, particularly the works of Henri Matisse;
German Expressionism; Latin-American painting; the art of the San Francisco Bay Area with
exceptional holdings of paintings by Richard Diebenkorn; works by Paul Klee; and a distinctive
collection of artworks by contemporary artists.
Photography
SFMOMA’s exceptional collection of photography includes especially fine holdings of works by
Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, the German Avant-garde artists of the 1920s
and the European Surrealists of the 1930s. A large gallery on the third floor of the Museum is
devoted to Picturing Modernity: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, a permanent
exhibition that offers a synoptic history of the medium.
Architecture and Design
The architecture and design collection features a diverse range of design objects and architectural
drawings and models by figures associated with the West Coast and the Pacific Rim, such as
Timothy Pflueger, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles Moore and William Turnbull, Frank Gehry,
Shiro Kuramata and Tomatsu Yagi.
Media Arts
The media arts department, one of the most active in the U.S., boasts seminal works by video
pioneers Nam June Paik, Mary Lucier, Bill Viola, Vito Acconci, and Woody Vasulka, as well as
more recent time-based works by Carolee Schneeman, Doug Hall and Dara Birnbaum.
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego SFMOMA is located at
151 Third Street, between Mission and Howard Streets, in San Francisco
Admission: $9 for adults, $6 for seniors (age 62 and older),
$5 for students with valid ID, free for members and children
age 12 and under; on Thursday evenings, admission is
half-price from 6-9 PM; the first Tuesday of every month is
free to all
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closed Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day
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PM, Thursdays 10 AM - 9 PM, closed Wednesdays and the 4th of July