Gallery without a Ceiling Opens at San Francisco MOMA

At last, the long-awaited ROOFTOP GARDEN at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opens on May 10th. Providing space for large scale works, this “gallery without a ceiling” offers an inviting open-air venue for experiencing art. With the city by the bay spread out around you, there will be plenty of room to relax, reflect, enjoy a coffee, and to view sculptures spanning the last five decades by some of the best-known artists of our time.

Artists to be featured in the Rooftop Garden's inaugural exhibition include Robert Arneson, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Luciano Fabro, Ellsworth Kelly, Mario Merz, Juan Munoz, Barnett Newman, Joel Shapiro, Ranjani Shettar, and Kiki Smith (see image to left). Sculptures will comprise works from the museum's collection that were either recently acquired or that are rarely seen. Also on view will be recent gifts of artwork donated specifically for display in the new space, including The Lens of Rotterdam (1988) by Mario Merz and Joel Shapiro's Untitled (1983–87).

"The garden will act as an entirely new kind of gallery, adding a fresh dimension to the museum experience," said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. "The grand scale of this remarkable space will enable us to exhibit large works—and even to extend and play off of the special exhibitions on view in our fifth-floor galleries."

The Rooftop Garden is partially covered but primarily open air and adds 14,400 s.f. to the museum. On its western side, it shares a panoramic glass wall with the museum's fifth-floor galleries, providing them with natural light and views of the garden. Access will be via an enclosed glass-and-steel bridge, where the reinstalled contemporary painting and sculpture exhibition Between Art and Life will be on view along with a specially commissioned project—an evocative painting depicting draped fabric reminiscent of marble sculpture—by former SECA Art Award recipient Rosana Castrillo Diaz.

For more information: San Francisco MOMO, 151 Third StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103
415.357.4000 - http://www.sfmoma.org

--Rosemary Carstens
http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

(Photo of Virgin Mary by Kiki Smith, 1993; Collection Vici and Kent Logan, fractional and promised gift to SFMOMA; © Kiki Smith)