This thematic installation of still-life paintings presents highlights from the Museum’s 20th-century galleries, which are currently undergoing renovation. Pictorial arrangements of objects from nature and daily life have not, traditionally, enjoyed the same status as religious or historical subjects. The still-life, however, has remained a pillar of painting since its establishment as an independent genre in the 17th century. One…

Asian Modernism and the Art of Kūboku and Hisako Takaku The artist Kuboku Takaku (1908–1993) perfected the ancient Japanese technique of wax-resist dyeing to create textile paintings on obi, kimono, and screens. His works merged Japanese subjects with cubist and modernist styles, and he was the only textile artist who effectively transitioned from the Fine Arts circles of the 1930s…

This winter, an important group of Modern French paintings from a local collection will be juxtaposed with the highlights of the Gluck Collection, which has long been part of the Museum’s permanent collection. The loans will include paintings by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Paul Serusier, Fernand Leger, Édouard Vuillard, and Pierre Bonnard, which will be shown alongside other Post-Impressionist and…

The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan Majestic 6th-century Chinese Buddhist sculpture is combined with 21st century 3D-imaging technology in this exploration of one of the most important groups of Buddhist devotional sites in early medieval China. A video installation, touch screens, and research kiosks enable visitors to digitally envision some of the caves as they appeared before their tragic despoliation….

Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries The Pastrana Tapestries are among the finest surviving Gothic tapestries. The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries will feature the recently restored set of four monumental tapestries that commemorate the deeds of Afonso V, King of Portugal. Woven in the late 1400s, these monumental tapestries, each measuring 12 by 36 feet,…

Works by Yinka Shonibare, MBE The power and whimsy inherent in Yinka Shonibare’s work from the past two decades are as nuanced as the complex topics he investigates-namely those of colonialism and its lasting impacts. An argument with a professor at Goldsmith’s College in the 1980s forced the artist to defend whether or not he should be making “authentic” African…

German Expressionism at The San Diego Museum of Art Highlighting the recent bequest of 48 German Expressionist paintings, drawings, and prints from the estate of Vance E. Kondon and Elisabeth Giesberger, the Museum presents this exhibition dedicated to the modernist movement that developed in Germany and Austria in the first decades of the 20th century. German Expressionism was not the…

Melanesian Art from the Valerie Franklin Collection Featuring objects from the 19th century to the middle of the 20th that are on loan to the Museum from one of the most prestigious private collections in the United States, this exhibition serves as an introduction to the art and culture of one of the Pacific’s most dynamic regions. Covering one-third of…

Art of the United States from Three San Diego Museums Behold, America! includes works from the colonial period to the present that together tell a cohesive and dynamic story of the history of art in the United States. The exhibition is a part of an innovative collaboration between three renowned museums: the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The San…

An American Post-Impressionist While Charles Reiffel (1862–1942) is usually considered today as a leader of the California plein-air school of painting, this exhibition celebrates his legacy as a preeminent practitioner of Post-Impressionism in America. During his lifetime, Reiffel’s work was exhibited throughout the country and won the accolades of critics, who referred to him as the “American Van Gogh”. Others judged…