Preview of the Newly Expanded SFMOMA

Yesterday, as a member of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), I joined a big crowd for a preview of the newly expanded seven-story building, chiefly to accommodate the vast and important Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.

Behind the existing brick-colored and black and white tiled facade, a taller wing like a white ship was added, like a backdrop, or a enveloping protective hull.







Some of the best feature of the older building was preserved, such as the signature black-gray tiles, transparent gangway; the changed main entrance staircase was a major failure - either inviting or comforting, nor flashing or grant, and had been aptly compared to IKEA.







New wing was definitely airier and even spiritual; the old wing became decidedly cramped and old, by contrast.



I was glad to encounter some of my favorites, such as this lovely portrait by Max Beckmann and some Paul Klee:


Frau bei der Toilette mit roten und weissen Lilien , Max Beckmann


Blüten in der Nacht (Blossoms in the Night), Paul Klee

A very familiar sculpture, Sequence, by Richard Serra, seen on Stanford Campus for many years, in the open air, reflecting changes of time and lighting, was on display in an indoor setting, which was still great to view, but robbed if some of the magic:


Sequence, Richard Serra



Then, in both old and new wings, which sprawled like a labyrinth, I encountered many interesting works, some of them had been featured in a special exhibit to introduce the Fisher Collection.















The best two rooms were the great Anselm Kiefer works collected by the Fishers, monumental, profound and deeply moving:


Works by Anselm Kiefer


Der Rhein, Anselm Kiefer


Wege der Weltweisheit die Hermannsschlacht (Ways of Worldly Wisdom Arminius's Battle), Anselm Kiefer


Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion), Anselm Kiefer


Unternehmen Seelöwe (detail), Anselm Kiefer


Margarethe, Anselm Kiefer


Rooms of Anselm Kiefer

Other my favorites included these works below by Georg Baselit, George Condo, William Kentridge, Brice Marden, Gerhard Richter, Shirin Neshat, sand Cy Twombly:


Der Falke, Georg Baselit


Elke im Lehnstuhl, Georg Baselitz


Dancing Figures, George Condo


Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Picture), Gerhard Richter


Drawings from Preparing the Flute (Bird Catcher), William Kentridge




Design for "Die Zauberflöte" by William Kentridge, SFMOMA Re opening Preview 7May2016


Passage, 2001, by Shirin Neshat, Fisher Collection, SFMOMA, August 2010


Cold Mountain 6 (Bridge), Brice Marden


Untitled, Cy Twombly

A wonderful opening.  Congratulations, SFMOMA!


Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- Introduction to Fisher Collection and the 75th Anniversary Exhibit at SFMOMA
- Cy Twombly (April 25, 1928 – July 5, 2011)
- My Flickr Phote is SFMOMA Blog's Picture of the Week
- "Fancy Animal Carnival" by Taiwanese artist Hung Yi (洪易) at SF Civic Center
- Three Heads, Six Arms (Nezha), Giant Bronze Scuplture at Civic Plaza, San Francisco
- @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
- A Day at Palace of Fine Arts & Crissy Field in San Francisco
- From Trash to Art, or From Trash to Elevated Trash
- Art in the Streets of San Francisco