The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) recently announced that it has received its largest corporate donation ever for a single exhibition. Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has provided $1.5 million in funding for the first major posthumous retrospective of artist, activist, and educator Ruth Asawa, who passed away in 2013.
The exhibition, curated by SFMOMA Chief Curator Janet Bishop and MoMA Assistant Curator Cara Manes, will showcase 300 works from Asawa’s six-decade career. It is set to open on April 5 and will run until September at SFMOMA before traveling to MoMA, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and Switzerland’s Fondation Beyele through January 2027.
Ruth Asawa, renowned for her biomorphic suspended wire sculptures, was born in 1926 and faced internment during World War II along with her family. Despite these challenges, she rose to prominence in the art world in the late 1950s and became known for her innovative sculptural work.
Asawa’s contributions to the arts extended beyond her own practice. She played a key role in establishing the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco and created public artworks like “Andrea” in Ghirardelli Square.
Google.org’s funding for the exhibition will support various community initiatives, including free admission days, a symposium hosted by Beyond Conflict and California College of the Arts, public events, and the development of a community garden on the museum’s fourth floor.
Spanning 14,000 square feet at SFMOMA, the retrospective will delve into different aspects of Asawa’s life and work, from her time at Black Mountain College to her iconic wire sculptures and botanical drawings.
As San Francisco museums face potential budget cuts, the support from Google.org for the Ruth Asawa exhibition comes as a much-needed boost for the city’s cultural institutions.
Overall, the retrospective promises to be a comprehensive exploration of Ruth Asawa’s artistic legacy and her enduring impact on the art world.
