…including wire, cardboard, wood, and scraps of his army fatigues. Installation view of Manuel Neri Assertion of the Figure with “Untitled Female Figure” (l.) and Untitled Male Figure, (both c. 1958) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic) In the years that followed, plaster figures built over metal armatures became Neri’s trademark. The earliest works in Assertion of the Figure are an “Untitled” 1958 male/female duo in painted plaster that have…

…Squares: Contemporary California Quilts Oakland Museum of California Sept. 12, 2015 – Feb. 21, 2016 OMCA starts the fall season with the work of five Bay Area female quilters, showing 20 quilts from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. Seeking orderly patterns and demure fabrics in your textiles? This show is not for you. Working with full denim pant legs, velvet and glittery polyester, Angie Tobias, Arbie Williams, Mattie Pickett, Rosie Lee Tompk…

…llection at Stanford University until her death. She saw the collection grow through gifts from other members of the community, and generously loaned artwork from her private collection to the museum in order to engage visitors in new ways. “The Andersons’ collecting philosophy rested upon their equal belief in the head and the hands – ingenuity as well as master craftsmanship. What that doesn’t mention is both Moo and Hunk led with their hearts,…

…ersons displayed art in their home. Subdued lighting (to protect 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 geo…

…ay Wisely play the authors in this new production. It’s not really a romantic tale. Sand was 20 years older, and they never met. But director Joy Carlin told me audiences are loving it. “It seems to pack a wallop, it’s just people reading letters, but people seem to get very emotional over it.” Details here. Robert Hawkins entertains the Comedy Day audience (Photo: Dan Dion/Comedy Day) Sept 18: Comedy Day is back in Golden Gate Park. This free…

…or artworks, but the Andersons are pleased their collection will be on public display in a dedicated building on the Stanford campus. “I think in order to enjoy art, you have to share it,” remarked Moo Anderson to the  LA Times . Located adjacent to the university’s Cantor Arts Center, the Anderson Collection will be latest addition to Stanford’s arts district. Last year saw the opening of Bing Concert Hall and 2015 is the date set fo…

…creations are part sculpture and ornament, armor and instrument and are often worn as costumes and performed in. The energetic vibration of each single, insignificant article is magnified by how Cave chooses to bind them together. Each found object is transformed through the combination of color, history, function and sound. They force a reaction based on the viewer’s personal history. There is something familiar about the experience of see…

…ake advantage of this assemblage of iconic modern pieces. Again, the open-air, naturally-lit environs drive home the idea, at least for me, that this is a collection accessible to anyone. There are no crazy, over-the-top experimental pieces. You don’t need to be schooled in stuffy academic artspeak. You can be as Luciferian as you want. And it’s free. Just bring money for parking. With Rodin’s Gates of Hell already a common stop…

One of HUNK ANDERSON’s favorite observations about the remarkable artwork that once hung in his dining room, including Jackson Pollock’s Lucifer and Willem de Kooning’s Woman Standing – Pink, among others, is that one could enjoy a feast in the room without ever having a meal, thanks to the rich visual display. The feast proved moveable and equally rich when the paintings were relocated to the campus over the summer and served to the Stanford co…

…seen, reflected his philosophy that art can and should inspire all of us. All of us at Stanford will always have the deepest affection for Hunk as a generous, big-hearted man.” To date, the Anderson Collection at Stanford University has been seen by nearly 250,000 visitors. Every work in the museum is viewable online and the collection has grown through gifts from other members of the community. Head and hands collection Harry W. Anderson was bor…

The Anderson Collection was honored to have Wayne Thiebaud as the museum’s first Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecturer in 2015. Cheers to this educator, painter, and lifelong sweet tooth! Wayne Thiebaud is well known for his images of food, ranging from lollipops to display cakes. During the early 1960s, he was identified with Pop Art—a connection he was quick to disclaim. Yet his own background in commercial art affect the way he handled subject…

…e 134,000-square-foot garden in 1972. The garden opened to the public along with the Getty Center in 1997. Irwin is gaining international attention for his massive, $5 million project on the grounds of the Chinati Foundation, the mecca of large-scale works in Marfa, Texas, founded by the sculptor Donald Judd. After more than a decade of planning, Irwin’s 10,000-square-foot structure, on the site of a derelict Army hospital, is slated for co…

…splatters that are strewn across “The Beaubourg.” It is interesting to note the contrast between these seemingly formless paint splatters and the geometric forms that crisscross the piece. 2. “Ocean Park #60” by Richard Diebenkorn “Ocean Park #60” is a product of Bay Area painter Richard Diebenkorn’s progression from representational works to depictions of purely abstract forms — in other words, from accurate depictions of real objects to composi…

…ts, on the Stanford campus. “They consider themselves custodians of the work they collect,” says Jason Linetzky, the director of the Anderson Collection at Stanford. But, he adds, “they’re very down-to-earth and casual about how they live with the art.” A Renoir was moved from Putter’s room to make way for the Pollock. In the living room, Sam Francis’s 1955 Red in Red has pride of place above the fireplace; over the sofa isNumber  64, a 1958 wo…

…uding Neal Benezra, MA ’81, PhD ’83, director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, worked with the collection for several years before moving into careers as teachers and museum professionals. Hunk willingly wrote them letters of recommendation and has always taken great pride in their later achievements. The long history of Stanford and the Andersons working together to educate students in the arts is by no means over. It is th…

…e stellar work in the Anderson Collection, an impressive new museum opening Sunday at Stanford University. Given the prestige of the university, founded in 1891, it is remarkable to realize that Stanford has never been home to a major art collection. The closest it has come is the group of 200 sculptures by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), mostly contemporary bronze casts, housed at the Cantor Arts Center adjacent to the new museum. Overnight, the Ande…