Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

The SECA Awards

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Rigo 98 (now Rigo 23), Study for Looking at 1998 San Francisco from the Top of 1925, 1998 (detail); felt-tip pen, acrylic, tape, paper, and electrostatic prints; collection SFMOMA; © Rigo 23

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

John Bankston, Bronze Cowboy, 2003; oil on linen; collection SFMOMA; © John Bankston; photo: courtesy SFMOMA

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Gay Outlaw, Nest, 1999; pencils, glue; collection of Lucinda Reinold; © Gay Outlaw; photo: courtesy the artist and Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Bonnie Ora Sherk and Howard Levine, Portable Parks II, 1970; performance and installation staged on June 26, 1970, at the freeway off-ramp on the corner of Mission, Otis, and Duboce Streets, San Francisco; Bonnie Sherk discussing the project with CalTrans officials; © Bonnie Ora Sherk

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Sarah Cain, Hello Darkness My Old Friend, 2006; mixed media on paper; collection SFMOMA; © 2006 Sarah Cain; photo: Ira Schrank

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Nayland Blake, Work Station #5, 1989; steel, glass, aluminum, leather, plastic, rubber, and cleavers; collection SFMOMA; © Nayland Blake; photo: courtesy SFMOMA

Fifty Years of Bay Area Art

Barry McGee, Untitled, 2011; acrylic on panels; commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; courtesy of the artist, Ratio 3, San Francisco, Cheim & Read, New York, and Modern Art, London; ©Barry McGee; photo: Johnna Arnold

December 09, 2011 - April 03, 2012

Celebrating the unique and long-standing role of SFMOMA's SECA award program, this presentation brings into dialogue works by a number of past award recipients. In concert with an oral history project and a comprehensive book, the exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the museum's distinguished art interest group SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art), which honors the achievements of Bay Area artists. The exhibition offers a lens onto some of the key artistic approaches that have contributed to the vitality and breadth of contemporary art here. Artists include William Allan, Hung Liu, Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, Laurie Reid, and Kota Ezawa, among many others.


  • Publication

    Publication

    This richly illustrated publication commemorating the golden anniversary of SECA explores the history of SFMOMA's SECA award program for rising Bay Area artists and offers a broader look at the art interest group's activities.