SFMOMA gathers 200 works for a Northern California craft survey
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will present more than 200 objects by nearly 100 artists in Go Your Own Way in 2027. The exhibition follows Northern California craft from 1945 to 1980 through textiles, ceramics, furniture and other practices. Curator Nancy Lim also traces the schools, communities and artistic networks around the objects. It runs from February 13 to November 14.
Arts··Evening
Nearly 100 artists in a postwar craft exhibition
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, known as SFMOMA, will open Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80 on February 13, 2027. The exhibition runs until November 14 and brings together nearly 100 artists and more than 200 objects. The museum announced the programme on October 27. It presents the show as the first major museum exhibition devoted to Northern California’s contribution to craft during the postwar decades. The period covered is 1945 to 1980.[1], [2]
Textiles, basketry, ceramics, glass, wood, metal, jewelry and enamel appear in the selection. Its range extends from marbles and wooden furniture to conceptual fashion. Nancy Lim, the museum’s associate curator of painting and sculpture, has organized the exhibition around makers and the networks of artists, schools, commercial spaces and communities surrounding their work in that period.[1], [2]
Makers and communities share the programme
Announced participants include John Abduljaami, Elsie Allen, Robert Arneson, Ruth Asawa, George Blake, Jay DeFeo, Viola Frey and Mabel McKay. Works by Ed Rossbach, Kay Sekimachi, Jade Snow Wong and Kaisik Wong are also planned. The list extends to makers Heath Ceramics and Taylor & Ng. The museum’s director Christopher Bedford describes these artistic communities as having redefined craft’s place in daily life and in museums.[1], [2]
Lim emphasizes artists determined to make work on their own terms, regardless of prevailing views about art and craft. The exhibition will examine lesser-known histories around the objects and their makers, including connections to the region’s artistic and social currents. Schools and commercial spaces form part of that account of how craft developed across Northern California.[1]
A book and regional triennial accompany the show
A 296-page book will accompany the exhibition, published by SFMOMA with DelMonico Books. It includes an overview essay by Lim, 22 short texts on people and institutions that shaped Northern California craft, a substantial plate section and a timeline of key developments. The show is presented in association with the inaugural Further Triennial, a regional celebration bringing together more than 100 visual arts organizations around art from Northern California.[1], [2]
