Just in time before it closed, I caught the Ruth Asawa Retrospective at SFMOMA. As Gaudi is iconic to Barcelona, Asawa is iconic to the Bay Area — her presence is evident everywhere in our museums and public spaces. And she did so much more than I knew! A favorite photo of me with my mother is in front of a sculpture on the Embarcadero, and I discovered at the exhibit it was one of Asawa’s.
She’s most known for metal sculptures, typically wire woven into mesh shapes or branchlike forms:
While known for wire, she was clearly a curious artist who experimented with every medium from potato prints to cast bronze. It was inspiring how she integrated art into daily life and enlisted friends and family in her creative pursuits — making ceramic masks of her guests and children, painting watercolors of the vegetables used in cooking lessons with her grandchildren, drawing bouquets she received or plants in her garden, drawings she would then gift to others.
This ink drawing of tree rings is sublime, making that must have been like mediation:
When at SFMOMA, there are always favorite pieces to visit and new favorites to discover. It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous outing! Art always makes life better.
