…e of humility and deference to the art it encloses. Once inside though, one is in for a treat. And a treat it is indeed! Slow stairs take visitors to the first floor where the art resides. There is no art on the stair walls. “It gives visitors a chance to cleanse their mind”, explains Olcott. As we walk up the stairs, an oversized and inviting Clyfford Still pulls our eyes up, giving the ascent an aura of mystery. Once at the top of t…

…She opened her first solo museum exhibition at the di Rosa Museum (Napa) in February 2020. Semo lives and works in San Francisco. Discover more of her work http://davinasemo.net. You can also follow her on Instagram. Artist Erica Deeman explores Jennifer Bartlett’s At The Lake, Morning Erica Deeman is a visual artist living and working in San Francisco, CA. Originally from the U.K., she has lived in the States for just over 8 years. Dee…

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…

…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 finish to a rough, broken surface.” At $3 per bag, which Neri could only sometimes afford, plaster was also a forgiving material that allowed mistakes and improvisation: a poor man’s marble that could be hacked into submission. There is a cert…

…came West to establish Saga in Menlo Park, a national company distributing dorm food to college campuses across the United States. Museums far and wide courted the Andersons, but, logically, the art collection paid for by college cafeteria food belongs on a college campus. The deal, struck in 2011, was that Stanford would supply a new building, at a cost of $36 million, to be run independently of the neighboring Cantor Arts Center. The Andersons…

…ns. Each item he finds holds a story — the energetic imprint from every previous owner, which he assembles into his Soundsuits. In that way, it can be said that Soundsuits are formed from memories. The Chicago artist’s 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 the…

…ndividually. 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 evocative “Ocean Park #60” at the top of the steps. On the other hand, Ad Rhinehart’s “Untitled”, a go…

…bed and a couch facing across the space to the only light source: a door, stage right, cracked open just a hair. In the corner of the gallery is Manuel Neri’s “Untitled Standing Figure” (1982), a white plaster sculpture of a female half-swathed in marine blue, as if it had been transported out of the studio before it was ready. On the opposite side of the gallery, a pair of large and loud Lobdell canvases vies for attention; lik…

…n 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 community and the public in a series of courses over the last week. Opening week of the Anderson Collection at Stanford Universi…

…d the reception, explaining that their gift was one that will keep on giving. Students for generations will take 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 wa…

…ng 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 matter. In Candy Counter, he heightens the intensity of the color so that orange and green candies seem to vibrate with an improbable brightness, suggesting the chromatic enhancement common in advertising art. The bands of complimentary colors edging the class and candy create a flick…

…vived by his wife, Mary Margaret “Moo” Anderson; daughter, Mary Patricia “Putter” Anderson Pence, an art advisor in Los Angeles; and granddaughter Devin Pence, a first-year student at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The family plans to have a private burial but looks forward to hosting a celebration of Hunk’s life in the spring. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Anderson Collection at Stanford University online. Checks can a…

…nd names of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, felt almost wedged into the house, with masterpieces seemingly elbow to elbow in big rooms, and large canvases lining the hallways. As a teenager, Putter had a Pollock drip painting in her bedroom; any slumber-party guests must have been very careful with their Cokes and Cheetos. (The San Francisco Chronicle estimates the painting, Lucifer, might fetch as much as $100 million at auction.) Maybe because I was…

…open, graced with natural light—and their cornucopia of art. When the collection opens on September 21, visitors can experience 121 major works—paintings and sculptures—by 86 modern and contemporary American artists, the magnificent gift of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson and their daughter, Mary Patricia Anderson Pence. Designed by Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects, the 33,000-square-foot structure, adjacent to the Cantor Arts Center, incl…