Explore two iconic Modernists and their parallel contributions to the artistic development of the 20th century SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Museum of Art presents O’Keeffe and Moore, a groundbreaking exhibition uniting the work of these artistic giants for the first time, on view at The San Diego Museum of Art from May 13, 2023 – August 27, 2023, and then traveling to Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Canada. The exhibition re-creates both Georgia O’Keeffe’s and Henry Moore’s studios with their original found objects, tools, and furnishings. Visitors can experience the working practices of the two artists to see how natural forms such as animal skulls and bones, coiled sea shells, gnarled driftwood, and interlocking and layered stones inspired the…

Celebrate Art and Community with Floral Interpretations of Famous Works of Art Inspired by the Museum’s Collection SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art is in full bloom this spring with floral designers transforming famous works of art from the Museum’s collection into floral displays March 31–April 2, 2023. Art Alive is The San Diego Museum of Art’s annual fundraiser, providing critical year-round support for exhibitions, education, and outreach programs in the community. The signature celebration will feature nearly 100 floral arrangements inspired by works of art in the Museum’s collection. The theme for this year’s Art Alive is Modern Women, taking inspiration from the exhibition of the same name showcasing works of art by monumental women in the art world, including Sonia Delaunay, Françoise Gilot, and key…

Rachel Jans, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (January 2023) – The San Diego Museum of Art welcomes Rachel Jans as Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art beginning December 1. Jans will curate exhibitions, advise on acquisitions, and conduct research for all modern and contemporary art at the Museum. With more than 10 years of experience, she joins the institution from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where she served as Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture. “We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to The San Diego Museum of Art and believe that she will play a critical role in continuing to provide visitors with a cultural and thought-provoking experience at the Museum,” said Roxana Velásquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director and CEO at The San Diego Museum of Art. “Her extensive experience in…

Artist Sergio Hernandez at work

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (October 2022)  – The San Diego Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) are pleased to present internationally renowned artist Sergio Hernández as the featured speaker for the 22nd annual Axline Lecture on Monday, November 14, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. PST. This year’s Axline Lecture will be a hybrid event with a limited number of tickets available for in-person attendance, and additional tickets available for virtual viewing via Livestream. The Museum will also be featuring Sergio Hernández: Embers of Oaxaca, a dedicated exhibition with works by Sergio Hernández on view from November 12, 2022, through February 12, 2023. Oaxacan-based Sergio Hernández is among Mexico’s leading contemporary artists. Focusing on the wonders of the natural world, including native species of southern Mexico, the…

Internationally Renowned Contemporary Mexican Artist Debuts First Solo Museum Exhibition in the United States SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art presents Sergio Hernández: Embers of Oaxaca, an exhibition by the Oaxacan contemporary artist Sergio Hernández, on view November 12, 2022 – February 12, 2023. The first solo museum exhibition in the U.S. for the artist, the showcase features more than 30 large-scale paintings and mixed-media works with motifs drawn from the iconography of Hernández’s Indigenous heritage and wonders of the natural world, including native species of southern Mexico, Pacific Ocean marine life, and constellations of the night sky. Among the most renowned Mexican artists of his generation, Hernández follows in the tradition of fellow celebrated Oaxaqueños Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, while his use of local materials…

The first large-scale, solo show for the artist explores urban decay and questions faith SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art presents Chapel of the Rocks, an exhibition by New York–based visual artist Justin Sterling on view October 29, 2022 – February 12, 2023. The first solo museum show for the artist, Chapel of the Rocks is a space dedicated to exploring conversations on protest and “bad faith”, a term used by existentialist philosophers to describe the act of rationalizing our decisions or actions through a biased belief system. Utilizing the built environment as his medium, the artist is installing over 30 broken and mended stained-glass windows into a 1,000-square-foot chapel custom-built within the Museum. Before taking their place within the chapel, each window was found in the street,…

Photo and Video Artist Lisa Ross Encourages Exploration of the Uyghur People’s Spirituality, Culture and Homeland SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art presents Lisa Ross: Elegy to a Uyghur Homeland, a new exhibition by New York photo and video artist Lisa Ross. Thoughtfully composed, poetic and reverential in their approach, the photographs of Uyghur shrines capture the rituals and spiritual traditions associated with the desert monuments, as well as the beauty of everyday life in and around the Taklamakan Desert of the Uyghur Region, officially called Xinjiang (or “New Territory”) by the People’s Republic of China. Lisa Ross: Elegy to a Uyghur Homeland will be on view from November 5, 2022 through March 5, 2023. Lisa Ross first visited the Taklamakan Desert in 2002. Over a decade,…

SDMA to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) May, 20, 2022 – The San Diego Museum of Art announced it will join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. The 2022 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 21, 2022, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2022. Find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America. “We are thrilled to welcome our military personnel and their families, both locally and from across the…

The renowned Chilean artist will create four ceramic installations that explore climate change, sustainability, and our Earth SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art is pleased to present TERRA: Fernando Casasempere. The Chilean ceramic sculptor’s first solo exhibition in the United States highlights the urgency of the environmental crisis through installations that utilize the Earth as both subject and medium. Debuting during Art Alive, the Museum’s signature fundraising event, the exhibition—previously presented in Madrid at Casa de América—will be on view from April 29 through September 5, 2022. Using clay colored by industrial waste produced by copper mining and drilling processes in his native Chile, Casasempere will create four immersive installations that provide a meditative experience inspiring the public to consider their interactions with our planet. The first,…

Floral Interpretations of Famous Works of Arton View April 29 – May 1 SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Museum of Art’s 41st annual Art Alive, an event in which floral designers transform famous works of art from the permanent collection into exquisite floral displays, returns April 29–May 1, 2022. A highly anticipated San Diego spring tradition,Art Alive is the Museum’s signature fundraiser that provides support for education, outreach programs and special exhibitions.  The celebration will feature nearly 100 floral interpretations of works of art throughout the Museum created by local floral designers, filling the galleries with a brilliant crescendo of color and scent. Local San Diego artist and owner of Tend Living, Britton Neubacher has been selected as the Rotunda Designer and will transform the Museum rotunda into…