SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announces the promotion of Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher to the Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design and head of the Department of Architecture and Design. In her new role, Dunlop Fletcher will set the overall vision for the department, overseeing acquisitions, exhibitions and publications. She previously served the museum as assistant curator from 2008 to 2013, and as associate curator…

SFMOMA’s annual report, On the Go: A Look at SFMOMA, July 1, 2012–June 30, 2014, is now available here. Covering the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years, this report features a photo retrospective of key exhibitions and events prior to and after the museum’s close in 2013 for expansion. Significant highlights include the Countdown Celebration, construction milestones and a diverse range of On the Go exhibitions. Acquisitions, publications, supporters, public…

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the independent, San Francisco–based coffee company Sightglass. Operating a new coffee bar on the third floor of the museum when it reopens in spring 2016, Sightglass will offer visitors a selection of artfully handcrafted coffee beverages and pastries, as well as a space in which to reflect and connect adjacent to SFMOMA’s new Photography…

Left: photo: SFMOMA; right: rendering: courtesty Snøhetta and MIR

The first work of art has been installed in our rapidly expanding Snøhetta-designed building! Richard Serra's monumental sculpture Sequence (2006) arrived at the museum the week of February 15. Passersby traveling down Howard Street were treated to an impromptu art preview, with many capturing stunning shots of the complex installation. You can check out a selection of their…

It is with great sadness that we share word of the passing of Dr. Carl Djerassi on January 30, 2015. A renaissance man in the truest sense of the word, Dr. Djerassi was widely known for his achievements as a scientist, novelist, playwright, poet, collector, connoisseur, educator, raconteur, and polymath.

"SFMOMA has lost a truly great friend in Carl Djerassi — an exceptionally brilliant man who counted the work of Swiss-born modernist Paul Klee among his many…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announces the appointment of Adine Varah as the museum’s new General Counsel.  As the Museum’s chief legal counsel, Varah will manage all legal and contractual activities for the museum. She will report to Janet Alberti, the Deputy Director of Administration and Finance.

“We are delighted to have Adine Varah join SFMOMA,” says SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra.  “Her deep experience in arts…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)’s popular MuseumStore at 51 Yerba Buena Lane is ready for the holidays with an array of carefully curated items, including artisan jewelry and accessories, housewares, children’s gifts, and a choice selection of art and design books. While the museum’s 235,000-square-foot Snøhetta-designed building expansion steadily rises toward completion in 2016, SFMOMA’s MuseumStore has remained an active…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is pleased to present American Icons: Masterworks from SFMOMA and the Fisher Collection (Icônes Américaines: Chefs-d’oeuvre du SFMOMA et de la collection Fisher), opening at the Grand Palais in Paris on April 8. Marking the first time these collections will be shown in tandem, American Icons features approximately 50 landmark paintings and sculptures by 14 leading American artists. The selection includes…

At a Topping Out ceremony on Wednesday, September 10, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) drew a crowd of some 1,000 supporters to celebrate the raising of the steel beam that brought the structure of the museum’s 235,000-square-foot Snøhetta-designed building expansion to its highest point.  

Held in Jessie Square—an outdoor plaza in the heart of the museum’s South of Market surroundings—the free, public event gathered…

​

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in partnership with the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts will present Markus Schinwald, on view at the Wattis Institute from September 9 through December 13, 2014.

This exhibition by Austrian artist Markus Schinwald (b. 1973) marks his first major commission for a U.S. institution. The site-responsive installation will include an architectural intervention that changes the physical and psychological potential of…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) combine their collections for the first time in Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California, an unprecedented exhibition that illuminates local histories and social forces that changed the face of art in—and beyond—the Golden State.

Weaving together the museums’ unsurpassed holdings of California art and ephemera, the exhibition tells the stories of…

On Thursday, October 30, 2014, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) drew more than 400 supporters of art and design to the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco for an award dinner to celebrate Apple Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive, recipient of the museum’s 15th annual Bay Area Treasure Award. Hosted by SFMOMA’s Modern Art Council (MAC), the museum’s premier fund-raising auxiliary, this annual lifetime-achievement award…

​More Than 1,000 Photographs Add to Museum's Renowned Holdings

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced today the creation of the John and Lisa Pritzker Center for Photography, which will be the largest exhibition space for photography and among the most advanced photographic arts centers of any art museum in the United States.

Funded by a lead gift from the Pritzkers and generous gifts from four additional benefactors, the more than 15,500-square-foot center will nearly triple the current amount of space for…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Director’s Circle lecture and dinner recognizes donors who contribute $15,000 or more annually to the museum, and will take place this year on March 20. Attendance is by invitation only.

Generously sponsored by J.P. Morgan Private Bank for the fifth year in a row, the evening marks an exclusive opportunity for Director’s Circle members to meet Mark Bradford, an artist with close ties to SFMOMA, and learn more…

In conjunction with the exhibition Public Intimacy: Art and Other Ordinary Acts in South Africa (opening February 21 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts [YBCA]), SFMOMA presents Live Projects 4, a series of performances, public conversations, and creative encounters that weave the work of South African contemporary artists into San Francisco’s urban structure. Unfolding at various locations—from YBCA's galleries to the streets of San…

SFMOMA is pleased to announce Holy Ghost! and Passion Pit (DJ Set) as the co-headliners for The Modern Ball, taking place on Wednesday, April 30. The museum's biennial fund-raising gala will be held outside SFMOMA's building for the first time this year, transforming Yerba Buena Gardens into a spectacular party space with surprises around every corner. The evening brings together three sensational experiences, all designed by Stanlee Gatti: the Gala Dinner, Supper…

Through 29, 2014, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will explore another side of Silicon Valley through Live Projects 3, a monthlong series of public programs including an artist talk, film screening, and participatory events and activities sparked by the work of artists featured in the museum’s current exhibition Project Los Altos: SFMOMA in Silicon Valley.

The exhibition presents seven newly commissioned, site-specific works by artists Spencer Finch,…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced today the appointment of Nan Keeton as the museum’s new Deputy Director, External Relations, overseeing development, marketing, and communications; and Janet Alberti as the museum’s new Deputy Director, Administration and Finance, helming finance, retail operations, facilities, rentals, and information systems. Together, with veteran Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Ruth Berson, they’ll…

SFMOMA Will Also Offer Free Lifetime Membership for All Artists in Collection

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announced today that when its expanded building opens to the public in 2016, admission will be free for visitors 18 and under. Designed to remove financial barriers to attendance for youth and families, the initiative deepens SFMOMA’s commitment to inspiring more young people through vibrant art experiences, and is intended to encourage repeat visits by local youth.

The museum also announced today that all artists with…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) today unveiled the Snøhetta-designed grand stair that will greet visitors in the museum’s existing Haas Atrium and invite them into the heart of its new 235,000-square-foot building expansion, currently under construction and slated for completion in early 2016.

Embracing architect Mario Botta’s original atrium design, the new stair will enhance the space for the display of art and allow a more direct…

From November 13 through 17, 2013, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) invites audiences to rediscover the Bay Area through the lens of contemporary art with the second installment of its bimonthly programming series, Live Projects 2. Unfolding at diverse locations in San Francisco and Oakland as part of SFMOMA’s On the Go program while the museum’s building is closed for expansion construction, each installment of Live…

Holy Ghost! and Passion Pit (DJ Set) to Headline Post-Modern Party; Gala Auction to Feature Artwork by Luc Tuymans

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)’s popular Modern Ball returns on Wednesday, April 30, 2014—this year turning the museum’s immediate South of Market surroundings into one gigantic party. For the first time, SFMOMA’s biennial fund-raising gala will be held outside the museum, transforming the nearby neighborhood oasis of Yerba Buena Gardens into a party space with surprises around every corner.

With three signature experiences…

(San Francisco and New York, October 17, 2013)—Marking a major collaboration between two leading U.S. museums, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the joint acquisition of South African artist William Kentridge’s major multimedia installation The Refusal of Time (2012).

Among Kentridge’s most complex and ambitious work to date, the piece represents a key development in the artist’s…

Jointly organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Matisse from SFMOMA brings together the work of Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954) from both institutions’ collections for a nearly yearlong presentation at the Legion of Honor. The single-gallery exhibition features 23 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from SFMOMA’s internationally acclaimed Matisse collection, alongside four important…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presents a statewide tour of two exhibitions drawn from its internationally acclaimed photography collection that will travel to six cities throughout California. Venues include Bakersfield, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Stockton, with an additional location to be announced. Launching in September 2013, an exhibition tour of this scale within California is unprecedented in the museum’s history, providing…

Co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Flesh and Metal: Body and Machine in Early 20th­-Century Art presents more than 70 artworks that explore a central dynamic of art making in Europe and the Americas between the 1910s and the early 1950s. On view from November 13, 2013 to March 16, 2014 at the Cantor Arts Center, the exhibition includes a rich group of paintings, sculptures, photographs,…

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced the election of leading contemporary American artist Ed Ruscha to its Board of Trustees. Ruscha joins the Board at the recommendation of SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra and becomes the fourth artist to serve as counsel to museum leadership from the artist’s perspective. Artists who have previously served on the Board include designer Yves Béhar (2010 to 2013), photographer Larry Sultan (2009 until his…

Expanding its role as a cultural producer and a catalyst for creativity, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) launches a new programming series Live Projects that will take place at diverse locations throughout the Bay Area while the museum’s building is undergoing expansion construction. As part of SFMOMA’s On the Go programs, the bimonthly series will offer an intensive immersion in the art and ideas of contemporary artists featured in the…

Continuing its pioneering use of technology, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has published its first online collection catalogue, the Rauschenberg Research Project, which features nearly 90 works by artist Robert Rauschenberg that are part of the museum’s permanent collection. Accessed through SFMOMA’s website, the online catalogue presents a seamless blend of rigorous scholarship and multimedia resources drawn from new, existing, and related…

Design Transforms SFMOMA and Neighborhood Opening New Routes of Public Circulation and Access With New Entry and Pedestrian Promenade

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) today unveiled the preliminary design for its expansion that will double the museum's exhibition and education space while enhancing the visitor experience and more deeply weaving the museum into the fabric of the city. The new building will both transform the museum and enliven the city by opening up new routes of public circulation around the neighborhood and into the museum. Completion is projected in 2016.

Developed by…

SFMOMA to Present Major Fisher Collection Exhibition as Part of 75^th Anniversary Celebration in 2010

September 25, 2009 (San Francisco, CA) – San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Board Chair Charles Schwab and Director Neal Benezra today announced that the museum is developing a groundbreaking relationship with Doris and Donald Fisher that would provide the Fisher Collection—one of the world's leading collections of contemporary art—with a home at SFMOMA.

The Fishers, who together founded Gap Inc. in 1969, have long envisioned keeping their…

Mario Botta's 1995 SFMOMA building is an iconic presence within the cityscape of San Francisco. Located in downtown San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) area, the five-story structure features a stepped and patterned brick facade topped by a soaring cylindrical turret. In the architect's signature style, the turret is finished in alternating bands of black and white stone and topped with a radial pattern of the same material.

Reflecting the influence of architect Louis…