The San Francisco Bay Area has been without its modern art institution for a couple of years now, as the physical space that is the SFMOMA has been closed for an addition to its existing building. The benefits of the closure has been spread out across various spaces around the SF area, whether at the Cantor at Stanford, the Wattis in SF, or even the Asian Art Museum here in the City as well. All the shows have been strong in their own way, but the newest SFMOMA On the Go exhibition, "Fertile Ground," brings together SFMOMA and the Oakland Museum of California for a theme that makes perfect: Art made in the SF Bay Area.
For Juxtapoz readers, "Fertile Ground" offers up an extensive look at the "Mission School" movement, which means Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Chris Johanson, Jo Jackson, Alicia McCarthy are all extensively featured and honored, and rightfully so. The SFMOMA and OMCA have all situated this unique group of artists (who could be considered the origins of street art, Beautiful Losers, to name a few movements) as central to what California art was in the 1990s, with McGee winning the SECA award in 1996 and being a major figure in Contemporary Art around the world since.
But seeing these Mission School artists in the context of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams,Robert Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Richard Diebenkorn and Bruce Nauman, to name a few, is a great reminder of the rich history of art made in the Bay Area. With such a heavy influence of Silicon Valley over the last 20 years, the Bay Area has been known more for technological and entrepreneur creativity rather than a "fertile ground" of fine art. The welcome change shown here at the OMCA with a shared collection of both art institutions gives historical perspective not only to the area's artists, but a blueprint of how shared visions can create movements.
Fertile Ground @ Oakland Museum of California
But seeing these Mission School artists in the context of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams,Robert Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Richard Diebenkorn and Bruce Nauman, to name a few, is a great reminder of the rich history of art made in the Bay Area. With such a heavy influence of Silicon Valley over the last 20 years, the Bay Area has been known more for technological and entrepreneur creativity rather than a "fertile ground" of fine art. The welcome change shown here at the OMCA with a shared collection of both art institutions gives historical perspective not only to the area's artists, but a blueprint of how shared visions can create movements.
Fertile Ground @ Oakland Museum of California
September 20, 2014—April 12, 2015
