…to the public at its new Stanford University home this Sunday, Sept. 21, in a freestanding pavilion next to the Cantor Arts Center in the University’s growing arts district. Members of the Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection can also attend a special preview of the museum on Sept. 20. Opening day festivities will include food trucks, music, activities and digital tours. Admission is free, and while visitors can reserve timed tickets o…

…Sept. 9, 2015 – March 21, 2016 Stanford has not one but four — count ’em — four exhibitions opening on Sept. 9. At the Cantor Arts Center, Richard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed presents 29 of the artist’s sketchbooks (along with digital versions on touchscreen kiosks) alongside Edward Hopper: New York Corner, a recently-acquired work by an artist who influenced the young Diebenkorn when he studied at Stanford as an undergrad. And compleme…

From ancient pottery and medicinal clay to 3D-printed joints and pajamas that restore athletes’ muscles, the use of ceramics for objects rooted in decoration, ritual and utility is as old as it is expansive. The practices of four living artists whose exploration of the medium provides commentary on its past and insight for the future are presented in Formed & Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics at the Anderson Collection at Stanford Univer…

…erman’s resignation in late November. The university has been circumspect about personnel matters, but did issue a press release at the time indicating that a transition team “will work closely with stakeholders from across the campus and community to situate the museum for ongoing success.” Mitchell and Brezinski discussed their new roles and goals in recent email interviews with this news organization. When asked if the Cantor…

…anford. Bay Area figurative art is a particular strength of the Anderson Collection and the second Park painting is an important acquisition. A collection of essays about the painting by Nancy Boas, Helen Park Bigelow and John Seed will be available in the galleries and online at the time of the opening. The Anderson Collection reopens to the public on Sept. 22 after being closed several months for maintenance. The permanent collection is being c…

…was simply a large pattern of burgundy, black and white. However, there was something very calming about looking at it. I used to criticize such artworks a lot, not understanding the value placed on artists like Rothko. But seeing such pieces in a museum in front of you feels very different than looking at images online after Googling the artist. These large canvases and colors, though they are just large patterns, weigh on you, and that weight w…

…Kelly’s “Black Ripe, 1955,” consisting of a large, black amoeba-shaped form that seems trapped inside the confines of the canvas. Among all these non-objective paintings stands a lovely and delicately crafted female torso entitled “Largo-May,” executed in copper and steel, by Saul Baizerman. Somehow, it works.  Looking at a legacy It is these unpredictable combinations that distinguish the Anderson Collection from mo…

On September 21, the Anderson Collection building opened at the Palo Alto campus of Stanford University—our frequent partner-in-crime when it comes to celebrating the West. Designed by the same team that created Stanford’s stellar Bing Concert Hall, the structure houses 121 works of modern and contemporary American art, all donated by Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson. Of course, we’re most excited about the pieces that have a Western flavor:…

…alifornia artist’s best ever paintings on paper make the Wirtz Gallery’s final outing look like a culmination of its long exhibition history. Robert Frank in America: Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center (through Jan. 5) exposed the editorial background of Frank’s classic “The Americans” as no exhibition or publication has done before. At Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz: Under house arrest in Beijing, the world’s most famous antiauthoritarian artist could…

…g about 90 minutes for a visit. Here are just a handful of the museum’s highlights: “Jackson Pollock’s ‘Lucifer’ is something that people come to see. It previously hung over Putter’s bed, before moving to the dining room and before coming here.” “There’s an incredible Mark Rothko (‘Pink and White Over Red’) that’s just beautiful — a seductive red painting.” “Robert Irwin’s untitled disk is capturing people’s attention. There’s this shadow qualit…

…ht-provoking and challenging suits are constructed in ways that refuse to reveal gender, age or race. They offer complete anonymity. To imagine yourself in them is to turn the collective sharing of memories into a personal epiphany. The Anderson exhibit includes eight Soundsuits, three video works and a recently completed documentary about Nick Cave titled “Here.” There also is an interactive felt wall where visitors to the gallery ca…

…“And there’s a real sense of connection there between a very innovative creation of the 19th century and a very innovative creation of the 21st century.” Tiews’ department is also bringing “artists to campus across the board, in many different areas,” he says. For three days, May 24-26, New York-based Hope Gangloff — the first Diekman Contemporary Commissions Program artist — will be intermittently painting large-scale portraits in the Cantor’s…

…rotect the fragile art on paper) sets a quiet mood and the small selection allows the visitor to linger and take in each work individually. Sometimes the connections are easily made. For example, Franz Kline’s “Untitled (Dancer at Islip)” uses the same bold, black, gestural strokes that can be seen in his paintings. Richard Diebenkorn’s carefully composed use of geometry and muted, cool colors relates directly to the evoca…

…y themselves as plain folk to befit their shared nickname “Hunk and Moo,” but they were sophisticated and timely in their collecting of artworks that were often abstract and beyond comprehension. They were also generous in both loaning and donating pieces to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Five years ago, the Anderson Collection at Stanford University opened next to Cantor Arts Center, the main…

…ation, the Anderson exhibition space — 16,000 feet on two floors — has been reinstalled for the first time since its opening. This includes a curated exhibition by Jim Campbell, the San Francisco lighting artist known for his six-story installation “Day for Night” at Salesforce Tower. For the Anderson show, Campbell built a new work titled “Rhythm Studies” composed of nine LED panels. It hangs in the first-floor window and can be seen day and nig…

…The idea itself emerged from her personal writings on stellar observations. Lita was thinking about the project in global terms, the “sculptures in space”; her early drawings depicted the body chakra system in relation to the North and South Pole connection. The idea was of star light entering from the North Pole through the Earth axis exiting at the South Pole. By creating an invisible shaft of light that would poetically come through the centr…