Last week, I had the chance to visit the new Ruth Asawa exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her work is so inspiring and seeing so much of it in person was such a cool experience. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the Bay between now and September 2.
Her sculptures feel ancient, modern, organic, alien, and musical all at the same time. It’s hard to describe what you’re witnessing, but you know it’s something worth appreciating and capturing, like taking a picture of a sunset or a blooming flower.
The light design for the show was so intentional and thoughtful. Her work is more than the objects themselves — it’s the shadows they cast. I can only imagine what they looked like in her studio with natural light, where she could see how the shadows changed at different times of day.
So cool!!!
One of my favorite parts of visiting a museum is the people-watching. I went on a weekday, and it was packed.
I feel like museums attract people with a sense of style and appreciation for beauty, which makes the people watching top tier.
I had no idea that Ruth Asawa did collage work. What inspired me most about this exhibit was seeing all the different forms of expression her work took throughout her career. No matter the medium, her signature point of view always shined through.
When I got home, I wanted to explore making my own Ruth Asawa-inspired cut-outs. I cut up an old magazine from the 1950s that had some great textures and shades of grey. Seeing a retrospective of someone’s work is a powerful reminder to take a step back and not get so attached to any one way of thinking or creating. It was a great day at the museum. Have you seen any great exhibits lately?
"You can't force a plant to bloom. It has a cycle. You have to tend it and care for it and wait for the bloom to happen. If you don't take care of it, it dies. The more experiences you have like this, the more you begin to understand your own cycle." — Ruth Asawa
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