Half-Life of a Dream

I visited SFMOMA this weekend to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. The exhibit is very moving. Frida was a very strong, passionate woman. Her surrealist art is packed with so much meaning and emotion. The exhibit also included an extensive collection of photos of Frida throughout her life.

After the seeing the Frida exhibit I popped into the galleries on the other side of the floor to see the Logan collection of contemporary Chinese art titled Half-Life of a Dream. This is an amazing exhibit that I fear might be overlooked with the ever popular Frida right next door. The paintings and installations are dream-like to say the least. One room holds an instillation of 20,000 plastic toy dinosaurs in the shape of the Asian continent marching like armies, upon which lies a bed with a cozy Chairman Mao sleeping and perhaps dreaming of his Chinese utopia.

Another favorite is a large painting with the several clones of the image of the artist charging forward on the backs of a herd of ostriches.

This is one of the most exciting exhibits I've seen at SFMOMA in my 8 years in the city. I will definitely visit again before the exhibit closes on October 5th.

(The painting above is by artist Fang Lijun.)

Olafur Eliasson

SF MOMA is featuring an exhibit by artist Olafur Eliasson through February 24th. The exhibit consists of sculpture, lighting, and other elements which for the most part are interactive. This exhibit is an amazing experience not to be missed! The artist will be in San Francisco on February 27th for an Artist Talk at the museum.

Museums on Us 2007

Bank of America is running a promotion for the month of May where you and a guest can get into several museums throughout the county for free. Just present your Bank of America card at the ticket desk. The locations for San Francisco are The Asian Art Museum, California Academy of Science, SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, de Young Museum, and Legion of Honor. Click here for more details and other locations.

Picasso & American Art

I went to the Picasso & American Art exhibit at SFMOMA today. It's a wonderful exhibit. It even includes what the experts believe to be the first Picasso painting brought to the U.S. by Max Weber. Even though Picasso never stepped foot in the U.S., his work was extremely influential on many American artists including Weber, de Kooning, Gorky, Lichtenstein, Pollack and others. The exhibit closes on Monday, May 28th. Go now before the crowds get even worse, and make sure you spring for the $2 audio guide. (Art pictured: Top - Pablo Picasso's Femme Assise, and bottom- Arshile Gorky's Blue Figure in Chair)

Materpieces of French Jewelry

Tyler and I attended the Masterpieces of French Jewelry exhibit today at the Legion of Honor. The collection consists of 20th century French produced pieces that are mostly part of private American collections. It is a beautiful exhibit that is open from now until June 10th. Don't miss it!