Looking for next-level experiences this summer? The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has you covered—and then some. Now open daily (except Tuesday and Wednesday), with late entry on Thursdays, SFMOMA really has something for everyone. Immerse yourself in landscapes of light and color, marvel at the masters—and don’t forget to bring the kids. General admission is always free for visitors 18 and under.
In the galleries of SFMOMA, worlds of color, sound and light bloom. Here art isn’t just something to look at, it’s something to step inside. From Olafur Eliasson’s insta-worthy fractured fun-house of ever-changing light, “One-way Colour Tunnel,” to Nam June Paik’s pop-culture temple “Sistine Chapel,” these immersive installations are intensely, indescribably world-shifting whether you’re five or 95.
Forget what you think you know about sculpture; you won’t find any Greek gods carved from marble in the halls of SFMOMA. Sculpture at the museum is bizarre, beautiful, and made from just about any material you can imagine, from fluorescent light bulbs to cardboard boxes to old encyclopedias. Some of the most mesmerizing must-sees come from this summer’s exhibition by visionary experimental artist Nam June Paik, including a living garden blossoming with 49 music video-playing televisions and a robot built from vintage media.
This summer’s exhibition Close to Home: Creativity in Crisis is the Bay Area’s first to grapple with the collective grief, monotony and unexpected reflection that accompanied the pandemic. Seven local artists share their deeply personal take on a year of upheaval. Some of their work is powerful and moving, others are just absurd enough to make you laugh out loud.
SFMOMA’s permanent collection rivals that of any modern art museum around the globe. Works by Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Georgia O’Keeffe, Henri Matisse, among others, call the museum home. The paintings and sculptures of other not-to-be-missed masters, including Paul Klee and Ruth Asawa, will arrive at the museum this summer for an extended visit.
When SFMOMA reopened its doors after three years of renovations in 2016 it had been transformed, a monumental metamorphosis that included turning the atrium into a free public gallery of rotating art. This summer, it’s dominated by artist Julie Mehretu’s “HOWL, eon,” two massive 27’ x 32’ abstract paintings that tower over the MOMA’s sculptural staircase. Like the atrium itself, other works found on the first and second floors can be visited without a ticket—just the right price for introducing young kids and skeptical adults to the world of art. Later this summer, don't miss "Pan American Unity"—a striking mural by Diego Rivera on Floor 1, which measures a huge 22 by 74-feet.
