…One of them, covering almost the entire wall, 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…

…ectors Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson, but it was a tight fit. Imagine having an Alexander Calder mobile in your living room, a Hans Hoffman color-saturated landscape over your bed. Now, a portion of the Andersons’ blue-chip collection has a new and spacious home on the Stanford campus: a beautiful bespoke museum designed to showcase the Modern and contemporary American paintings and sculptures the couple has so carefully acquired over…

Along a shady road here, you can glimpse large estates behind gates and hedges bought with fortunes earned in Silicon Valley. Then you come to the driveway of a ranch house that stands pretty much as it was when built in the 1960s by Harry and Mary Margaret Anderson. From the unpretentious exterior, few would guess that inside the house a single painting in their collection is worth as much as one or even two of those neighboring estates. This…

…e silence. This is a painting free of representation. There is only color, humming above the canvas. But perhaps there is someone else who catches your eye, a stranger that other folks seem to overlook (and you can’t imagine why). What about Vija Celmins’s “Barrier,” for instance? Or “Theophrastus’ Garden” by Terry Winters? If you find yourself staring at a cartoonish oil painting of an overcoat standing upright, you’re in the company of “The Coa…

…dy Columbia effectively chases out what white settlers saw as undesirable, unwanted, and disposable.” Looking to the future Other collaborative works in the exhibition include a projected digital slideshow of tribal seals of the United States and a corresponding work titled Their Land, which locates the communities represented by these seals, and current tribal lands, on the map of the United States. Over a dozen Stanford students, including thos…

The Cantor and Anderson Collection offer free membership to Class of 2020…

…rly, Kahlil Robert Irving, Simone Leigh and Brie Ruais – was postponed from spring 2020 and will be on view upon the museum’s reopening, hopefully in early 2021. A virtual tour of the show is available online now. “By sharing the work and voices of these contemporary artists, our visitors can engage with current issues while reflecting on work in the permanent collection,” said Jason Linetzky, director of the Anderson Collection. “Formed & Fi…

…ntemporary 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: three lovely Diebenkorns, a Thiebaud “Candy Counter,” and a particularly San Francisco–appropriate Paul Wonner. No prize for guessing where you’ll find us on our lunch breaks come late September… Admission is free, but by timed reservation on weekends; closed Tues.; anderson.stanford.edu – S…

Not to be missed at the Anderson Collection (in no particular order): 1. Richard Diebenkorn: “Berkeley No. 26,” 1954. 2. Frank Stella: “Zeltweg,” 1981. 3. Ellsworth Kelly: “Black Ripe,” 1955. 4. David Park: “Four Women,” 1959 (on the cover). 5. Jackson Pollock: “Lucifer,” 1947. 6. Morris Louis: “Number 64,” 1958. 7. Wayne Thiebaud: “Candy Counter,” 1962. 8. Mark Rothko: “Pink and White Over Red,” 1957. 9. Vija Celmins: “Barrier,” 1986. 10. Phili…

…ble only for maquettes and lamp bases, but he quickly seized on it’s quick-setting properties and receptivity to common tools. In 1998, on the occasion of an exhibition of his work at the Orange County Museum of Art, Neri spoke about why he preferred working with it.. “It’s a blah material,” he philosophized, “a dumb material. It doesn’t dictate to you at all. You can do anything you want to with it, practically, from a polished, glass-like finis…

…most coveted object the family has ever collected. There are only about 100 modern and contemporary artworks in the two-story, 33,500-square-foot structure, but the galleries offer an uncongested view of the Anderson family’s magnificent gift of 121 pieces to the university. Soon after you enter the campus building, a striking illusion occurs. A long staircase – its gentle slope making for a comfortable ascent – leads the eye d…

…has announced the names of 27 students who have been awarded scholarships for the continued study of visual art. The students, who range from first to eighth grade, come from Santa Clara and San Mateo County Schools, and were nominated by their classroom teachers based on their talent, hard work and demonstrated interest in art. The stduetns will be invited to take part in CSMA art programs. Those interested in learning more can go to arts4all.or…

…pt. 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 complementi…

…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…

…otes, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Philip Guston, Arshile Gorky and Mark Rothko. Linetzky said that many of the paper pieces were created earlier than paintings found upstairs in the permanent collection. “These works give visitors a sense of where the artist came from and help to contextualize (i.e,, Guston) or provide a deeper look (i.e., Diebenkorn). In the case of Guston, where else can you find a 30-year cross-section of amazing w…