THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (SFMOMA)
The highlight of my short stay in San Francisco was my visit to the SFMOMA. The museum has recently been refurbished and extended from a 5 floor museum to 7. The architecture of the museum is contemporary as one would imagine. The design plays on the concept of transparency and the illusion of falling!! From fully glazed ‘walls’ overlooking stair cases to mesh and glazed floored bridges that make you frightened to look down!
The collection is a jaw-dropper and certainly falls by no means short of the renowned collections of New York. It boasts all the star names in modern art history. I think the artist that stood out for me the most in this particular collection was Roy Lichtenstein. I think this museum has the best pieces by Lichtenstein I have ever seen. There was one in particular that I fell in love with.
Matisse
Brancusi
There was also a room of works on paper by Paul Klee that were just delicious. I have always liked Paul Klee but wasn’t very familiar with his drawing and print work. I love his experimentation in cross-hatching as a draughtsman. I found this inspiring. There was also a ‘face of a girl’ piece that was gorgeous (below).
Paul Klee
The collection also boasts almost an entire floor of Gerard Richter, a very pretty Matisse, a super Brancusi, an ingenious Anthony Gormley, a stunning Max Ernst, an incredibly powerful Rothko and many, many more.
Max Ernst
The Lichtenstein I fell in love with. This piece is comprised of a series of vertical canvases. See detail below.
Detail of above work
Detail of another Lichtenstein
Detail of another Lichtenstein
Detail of another Lichtenstein
Warhol by Warhol ;)
Layered glazed artwork with words - piece varies greatly from different angles
I liked the ambiguity in this piece as one could be left guessing if the screens were transparent glass or mirrors. I liked that.
Super work on paper: Leaves are both painting and collage
Great Shadows - Calder
Elegant Calder
The museum also houses a vast photography collection.
A nocturnal photograph of a garden with 'illuminating' flowers!
Anthony Gormley: From certain angles this work is an abstract bush and from others the figure manifests itself. Very clever.
Detail of the work above - Avant Garde Impressionism!!
Op art
Detail of the work above: The effect of 'crumpled paper' achieved simply by varying the size of black dots!
A very photogenic piece!
Detail of works on paper above: Silk and ink!
