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Exhibition

Side by Side

Dual Portraits of Artists
June 17–December 3, 2017
Floor 5

Taking David Hockney’s painting Shirley Goldfarb + Gregory Masurovsky (1974) as its point of departure, this exhibition focuses on portraits of artist pairs. The presentation considers not only how each painting conveys aspects of the subjects’ identities as individuals and artists, but also how the selection and placement of sitters draws attention to the relationships and psychological connections between them. Side by Side is the first exhibition to demonstrate how artworks from the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection will be remixed with those from the museum’s collection and elsewhere to introduce fresh perspectives and ideas. The show includes paintings as varied as Frida Kahlo’s Frieda and Diego Rivera (1931) and Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Wedding Portrait (2012), as well as a new work by Bay Area artist Travis Collinson created for Side by Side.

Exhibition Preview

Cross section view of a man sitting at a desk in a dark room; on the other side of the wall a woman sits upright on a chair on a porch looking out onto a garden patio; a small dog stands in front of her
Artwork image, Frida Kahlo's Frieda and Diego Rivera, 1931
Painting of an African woman in Nigerian wedding dress kneeling before a white man who is obscured by her gathered family, and offering him a ceremonial cup

David Hockney, Shirley Goldfarb + Gregory Masurovsky, 1974; the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © David Hockney

Frida Kahlo, Frieda and Diego Rivera, 1931; collection SFMOMA, Albert M. Bender Collection, gift of Albert M. Bender; © Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo: Don Ross

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wedding Portrait, 2012; collection SFMOMA, purchase through a gift of Pamela Joyner in honor of Gary Garrels, Elise S. Haas Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture; © Njideka Akunyili Crosby; photo: Ben Blackwell

Header image: David Hockney, Shirley Goldfarb + Gregory Masurovsky, 1974 (detail); the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © David Hockney