A Slow Succession with Many Interruptions reflects on the ways that artists have responded to the evolving conditions of the twenty-first century. Composed of works from the museum’s collection made since 2000, including several recent acquisitions and works on view for the first time, the exhibition explores the prevailing correlations between the personal, the intimate, and the individual; constructions of identity, history, and culture; the instability of materials; and strategies to rediscover or recover the past.
Underscoring the varied forms and approaches taken by artists including Lutz Bacher, Trisha Donnelly, Mark Manders, Paulina Olowska, and Danh Vo, the exhibition broadly considers the fluidity of ideas and how artworks embody time. The title phrase is taken from art historian George Kubler’s seminal book, The Shape of Time (1962), in which the author proposes a history of “things”—including artworks—that traces connected ideas developed in temporal sequence, sometimes over centuries.
Significant support for A Slow Succession with Many Interruptions is provided by SFMOMA Collectors’ Forum.
