Exclusive: SF Fine Arts Museums to Unveil 3 Major Artist Exhibits in 2023
John Singer Sargent, Ansel Adams and Kehinde Wiley will be the subject of new exhibitions at the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco next year, the institution announced Thursday, November 3.
“Sargent and Spain” is set to open Feb. 11 at the Legion of Honor, the exclusive West Coast venue for the exhibit. The exhibition, on view until May 14, is expected to focus on the influence of Spanish culture on the American painter, known for his society portraits in the second half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century. Among his most famous works is the 1884-85 painting “Portrait of Madame X”, which has acquired a unique pop culture fascination.
An expatriate, Sargent visited Spain seven times between 1879 and 1912, and his passion for the country gave rise to all of the work to be explored at the Legion. Curated by Emma Acker, Associate Curator of American Museum Art, the exhibition includes oils, watercolors, works on paper and previously unseen photographs of Spain from Sargent’s personal collection.
Sargent’s Spanish landscapes as well as works on people and architecture will also make their way into this exhibition, which will be presented as part of the Legion’s Spanish collection, which includes works by Goya and El Greco.
On March 18, “Kehinde Wiley: An Archeology of Silence” arrives at the de Young Museum for its US premiere after being presented at the Venice Biennale. This installation of new paintings and sculptures by the African-American artist, on view through October 25, was created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 murder of George Floyd. expands on the artist’s 2008 series “Down”, inspired by Hans Holbein the Younger’s painting “The Dead Christ in the Tomb” (1521-1522).
Wiley, a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, has long made the exploration and reinterpretation of Western art iconography a cornerstone of his practice, most notably through the reconceptualization of American landmarks in his work.
“Digging up the haunting toll of police violence in black communities around the world using the classic visual language of the dying hero, Wiley’s work stimulates critical discussion around the legacy of colonialism,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of FAMSF, who saw the work on sight in Venice, told The Chronicle.
Wiley was recently introduced to the de Young this summer in the “Obama Portrait Tour” with his painting of former President Barack Obama.
In the world of photography, “Ansel Adams in Our Time” debuts at the de Young Museum on April 8.
The San Francisco-born photographer had his first museum exhibition at the de Young in 1932. Today, more than 100 of his works return to the museum through July 23, complemented by the work of 23 contemporary artists who share the deep environmental concern of the wildlife defender, such as Catherine Opie, Richard Misrach, Trevor Paglen and Binh Danh.
The exhibit was curated by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with FAMSF, and will include a new interpretive setting that will provide more context about Adams’ “deep local roots” in the Bay Area and in California, said Lauren Palmor, assistant curator. of American art.
“A tireless advocate for the environment, Adams has managed to deploy his photographs to positively influence how Americans view our precious natural resources,” Palmor added. “The Bay Area’s rich history of environmental activism makes the de Young an ideal place to reevaluate Adams’ singular contribution to how we think about the landscape and the urgency with which we must protect it.”
In addition to this programming for the new year, the FAMSF also unveiled its last new exhibition of 2022: “Paperworks: Fifteen Years of Acquisitions”, which opens on December 17 at the Legion of Honor in a new gallery dedicated to preserved works. at the Achenbach. Collection of the Graphic Arts Foundation. Curated by Sarah Mackay and Karin Breuer of Achenbach, the exhibition is expected to include acquisitions made between 2007 and 2022. It will be organized thematically into five sections – “Ecologies of Place, Power Dynamics”, “Self and Identity”, “Vocabularies “. of Beauty” and “Process and Design” – and will be visible until June 25.
That same day at de Young, the previously announced “Lhola Amira: facing the future” opens as the inaugural exhibition of the museums new Contemporary African Art program curated by Natasha Becker.
DeYoung Museum: 9.30 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. $15 to $30. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, SF 415-750-3600. www.deyoung.famsf.org
Legion of Honor: 9.30 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. $15 to $30. Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave, SF 415-750-3600. www.famsf.org
Related Articles
Exclusive: New African Contemporary Art Program Launching in December at the de Young Museum
Exclusive: ‘Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy’ show in SF extended due to ‘skyrocketing success’
Oakland painter Mary Lovelace O’Neal honored at On the Edge gala at de Young Museum
