San Francisco museums team up for Gorgeous Gala

  • 2014-07-28
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Asian Art Museum teamed up recently for a show featuring pairs of items, one from each institution.

The results of these pairings were both eye-catching and surprising, with one item being contemporary and the other sometimes coming from antiquity. Patrons found themselves questioning their ideas about what constitutes beauty as they considered the juxtaposed items.

Janet Bishop, curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) called the exhibition a “feast for the eyes” that placed a “spotlight on the extremes and ambiguities of beauty”. She noted that the displays covered everything from romance, promiscuity, ornamentation, and eroticism, and drew attention to how these qualities relate to art.

Approximately 250 guests attended, and followed the gala's co-chairs, Elizabeth Pang Fullerton and Nanci Nishimura, as they walked through the galleries. One notable pairing was of a sculpture of Michael Jackson by Jeff Koons with a calm landscape, painted centuries ago, on panels.

Attendees also found themselves enjoying a four-course dinner, a performance by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, and a pantomime by Shanshan Liu, who appeared as a living statute portraying a Buddhist deity.

With this success, the museums could consider working with a catalog printing company to devise a booklet that describes the pairings in this exhibition, and offer it for sale in both gift shops.