The Fisher Collection galleries feature nearly 250 works by 35 artists, and beginning later this month, SFMOMA is unveiling its first updated presentation since the collection opened to the public as a part of the building’s expansion in 2016. Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10 will educate the public through storytelling. Visitors will gain new insights into how the collection was formed and the people who made it possible. Another refresh includes a new studio space that invites families and people of all ages to participate in hands-on activities related to themes explored in the galleries.
Modern and contemporary masters
Works on view include those by notable figures including Ellsworth Kelly, Anselm Kiefer, Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell, Gerhard Richter, and Andy Warhol.
One of the objects not previously or rarely on view include Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #477, (featured above). LeWitt, a seminal figure in the Minimalist and Conceptual art movements of the 1960s and 1970s, created thousands of works of art. Using simplicity of form, he utilized squares, cubes, lines and color to create a logical system of pared-down imagery. Kelly’s La Combe III, (1951) also reduces form to its bare essentials. Traditional narrative and meaning is abandoned, but the optical illusion created by blue shapes against a white background imply movement and gravity.
Newly on view are several works by Alexander Calder, including Star and Crescent (1976), a small mobile made only months before the artist’s death at age 76.
Shirin Neshat’s single-channel video Passage (2001), not on view since 2017, explores themes of loss, renewal and hope. Two installations by William Kentridge explore the mechanics of vision, presented in galleries dedicated to his work and designed by his longtime stage and exhibition designer, Sabine Theunissen.
Interactive art
The museum has worked toward making the reimagined Fisher Collection experience as welcoming, inclusive, and accessible as possible to the general public. In partnership with Prime Access Consulting (PAC), the collection now includes the installation of tactile museum maps for accessible wayfinding, visual descriptions for every artwork, touch objects that replicate select featured works, new seating design, and expanded physical design considerations to support those using wheelchairs or other access devices. Also, SFMOMA’s new space, called the Co-Lab, will feature hands-on activities for families and people of all ages to bring a spirit of play and exploration to art appreciation.
The art of collecting
For the first time, SFMOMA will feature a multimedia timeline that captures the development of the Fisher Collection, describing when and how the collection was formed, and the social scene that brought them together. The story that emerges teaches us that collections are about relationships. Among the fascinating components of the timeline is a book created for Doris and Donald Fisher’s 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 that includes messages from different artists in their collection. Many of the messages were created by hand and reflected their signature artistic styles.
A work of art is like a word. Taken on its own, it has little context. Looking at a collection introduces the viewer to still more words, and suddenly a sentence is formed. Meaning is revealed when we see through the eyes of the collector, and insights behind each piece chosen over time tells its own larger story.
Special events and performances
Special events are scheduled in celebration of the opening of Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10. On Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, a somatic, meditative postmodern dance performance by Galen Rogers and Lauren Simpson, with Ameen Wahba will take place at 2 and 4 p.m. At 1 and 3 p.m. on April 18, GEO, a Bay Area-based harpist who blends classical, hip-hop, EDM, R&B, and soul will perform. On April 19, join cellist and vocalist Theresa Wong for a gallery-based performance in response to and resonating with the artworks of Sol LeWitt and Ellsworth Kelly.
