Pardon our dust; we're working on a new installation that affects the Atrium and Floors 3, 4, and 5.
Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80
February 13–November 14, 2027
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 27, 2026)—The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) announces Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80, the first major museum exhibition to feature the region’s creative contributions to the field of craft in the postwar decades. Presented at SFMOMA from February 13 through November 14, 2027, this exhibition will highlight nearly 100 artists and more than 200 objects, including textiles, basketry, ceramics, glass, wood, metal, jewelry and enamel.
“Go Your Own Way captures the Bay Area’s restless energy and its spirit of continual reinvention,” said Christopher Bedford, Helen and Charles Schwab Director of SFMOMA. “The exhibition shows how Northern California’s many active artistic communities during this period redefined craft, its roles in our lives and its place in our museums.”
“A celebration of Northern California’s makers of the postwar decades, this exhibition features a range of visionaries who were determined to create work on their own terms, regardless of prevailing trends or opinions about what art or craft should be,” said Nancy Lim, associate curator of painting and sculpture at SFMOMA.
From marbles to wood furniture to conceptual fashion, Go Your Own Way will introduce Northern California’s marvelous plurality of craft practices and its energetic networks of artists, schools, commercial spaces and communities. By uncovering stories behind the artworks and their makers, the exhibition will delve into lesser-known histories that accelerated the region’s radical artistic and social currents from 1945 to 1980. It will explore how Northern California came to define modern and contemporary U.S. craft.
Among the pivotal artists whose work will be featured are John Abduljaami, Elsie Allen, Robert Arneson, Ruth Asawa, Garry Knox Bennett, George Blake, Irena Brynner, Frances Butler, Arthur Espenet Carpenter, Margaret De Patta, Jay DeFeo, Lillian Elliott, Viola Frey, Romano Gabriel, Valborg “Mama” Gravander, Trude Guermonprez, Heath Ceramics, Marvin Lipofsky, Richard Marquis, Mabel McKay, Evangeline Montgomery, Jim Melchert, Taylor & Ng, Merry Renk, Ruth Rippon, Ed Rossbach, June Schwarcz, Kay Sekimachi, Ruth Tamura, Carlos Villa, Marguerite Wildenhain, Jade Snow Wong, Kaisik Wong and Martin Wong.
PUBLICATION
Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80 will be complemented by a 296-page book published by SFMOMA in association with DelMonico Books · DAP (Distributed Art Publishers). With an expansive approach that cuts across art and material culture, the volume will include an overview essay by Nancy Lim, 22 short texts about people and institutions who shaped craft in Northern California, an extensive plate section and a timeline plotting key moments.
CREDITS
Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80 is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and curated by Nancy Lim, associate curator of painting and sculpture at SFMOMA.
Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80 is presented in association with the inaugural Further Triennial, which brings together 100+ visual arts organizations for a region-wide celebration of art from Northern California.
SUPPORT
Presenting support for Go Your Own Way: Northern California Craft, 1945–80 is provided by Evans Hankey and Brook Lane. Major support is provided by Neal Benezra Exhibition Fund and Davidow Family Fund for Exhibitions of Modern Art. Significant support is provided by The Elaine McKeon Endowed Exhibition Fund, and Annie Robinson Woods and Montgomery Woods. Meaningful support is provided by Agnes Cowles Bourne Bay Area Contemporary Arts Exhibition Fund, Shawn and Brook Byers, Mary Jane Elmore West Coast Exhibition Fund, Bill & Stephanie Mellin, the Stuart G. Moldaw Public Program and Exhibition Fund, Rago/Wright Auctions, Pat and Bill Wilson Exhibitions Fund.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. Our remarkable collection of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design and media arts is housed in a LEED Gold-certified building designed by the global architects Snøhetta and Mario Botta. In addition to our seven gallery floors, SFMOMA now offers over 45,000 square feet of free, art-filled public space open to all.
Visit sfmoma.org or call 415.357.4000 for more information.
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Image:
Marguerite Wildenhain, Tea set, 1960s; The Forrest L. Merrill Collection; © Estate of Marguerite Wildenhain; photo: M. Lee Fatherree