Founded in 1935 as the West Coast’s first museum devoted to modern and contemporary art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has recently completed a major renovation that nearly tripled its previous exhibition and gallery space. To mark this transformation, the museum opened a new exhibition featuring 260 works from the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection of postwar and contemporary art, together with commissioned projects and selections from the museum’s permanent holdings.
The expanded galleries showcase an array of movements and formats, including Pop Art, Minimalism, figurative painting, and American abstraction, alongside significant Calder works dating from the 1920s through the 1960s. The reopening also highlights site-specific installations by Dutch designer Claudy Jongstra and new sculpture by several British artists, bringing fresh perspectives to the enhanced spaces.
Photography receives special emphasis in the newly created Pritzker Center for Photography, which presents dedicated installations that frame both historical and contemporary photographic practices. In addition, the expansion includes galleries dedicated to Bay Area and California artists, reinforcing the museum’s commitment to local creative communities and providing broader context for regional work within an international program.
Overall, the renovation expands the museum’s capacity to display more of its collection and host ambitious temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and public events. By increasing gallery space and introducing purpose-built venues like the Pritzker Center, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art strengthens its role as a major cultural institution on the West Coast, offering visitors a richer, more varied experience of modern and contemporary art.