Photo: Don Ross
Why did you decide to join Contemporaries?
There are so many emerging artists, galleries, and institutions participating in the art world today. All these diverse perspectives generate a tremendous amount of energy that I find inspiring, but also overwhelming. Since I don’t have any formal training in art or art history, I’m always looking for ways to process the beauty and the chaos. Contemporaries lets me connect with a community of art lovers who ask questions, share opinions, and ultimately try to find meaning in the art that’s being made today.
What new experiences and knowledge are you looking to get out of your membership in Contemporaries?
It’s so much fun to get ideas for new ways to live with art. And I look forward to asking our guest artists who their own favorite artists are. But I’m primarily hoping to have conversations with other members who are curious about art and eager to share their viewpoints.
What art do you have your eye on right now?
I am simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by Ed Atkins’s video avatars. Kevin Beasley’s wild sound creations ask questions about race, culture, and justice that are important today. Alicja Kwade’s elegant sculptures give substance and volume to the intangible concept of time. More locally, I was wowed by the Richard T. Walker show at FraenkelLAB, which created a powerful sense of yearning and mystery through film, photography, collage, sculpture, and music.
How did you get into collecting?
In September 2013, just one week after my husband and I moved into our home, we had the opportunity to participate in Doug Aitken’s cross-country train project, Station to Station. Riding through the Southwest with artists and thinkers was an otherworldly experience, and we realized we wanted to bring that kind of alternative, divergent thinking into our everyday lives. Plus, we had many empty walls to fill!
Do you have a favorite artwork on view at SFMOMA currently?
There is a room full of photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher. I guess that’s technically several artworks, but it’s one magnificent experience.
