A Brand New Look for SFMOMA

My recent visit to the newly renovated San Francisco Museum of Modern art (SFMOMA) was nothing short of inspirational. Closed for reconstruction since 2013, the museum opens officially on May 14th, but I was lucky enough to get an early sneak peek this past weekend. What a refresh! The space has been completely redesigned by the New York-and Oslo-based architecture firm Snøhetta. At the center is a new, larger staircase letting in light and anchoring a spiral layout. The new look makes you want to walk around inside and explore.

I learned that the inspiration for the 10-story expansion with waving panels was San Francisco itself: the fog rolling in and the ripples of the San Francisco Bay. The museum really expresses the city’s relaxed spirit. The interior features many new areas to sit and take in the artwork including wide benches and new cafes.

In fact, the investment made into SFMOMA shows on every floor, with large galleries showcasing new collections as well as the previous museum gems. A considerable amount of the new gallery includes works from the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection with an extensive number of works by Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly and American Abstractionist Ellsworth Kelly. Among the new works, I especially enjoyed having a close look at Georges Braque’s “Nature Morte”, a famous cubist reimagining of a still life.

There is so much to see that you can immediately feel you’ll get value out of a membership, as it would takes many trips to really absorb all that is displayed. Time and again one hears that SFMOMA now rivals museums around the world with its comprehensive collection. At the preview I caught a glimpse of that, and I look forward to many repeated visits to enjoy all that it has to offer.

By Rayah Levy, Art Market Expert
LinkedIn, May 6, 2016:
https://lnkd.in/b3yT5AR