June Schwarcz: Unconventional Enamels on view at SFO Museum

June Schwarcz (1918–2015), ‘Harlequin Hat Vessel (#2172),’ 2000. Electroformed copper foil, enamel, fire scale. Collection of Forrest L. Merrill. L2023.0601.026. Image courtesy of the SFO Museum
June Schwarcz (1918–2015), ‘Harlequin Hat Vessel (#2172),’ 2000. Electroformed copper foil, enamel, fire scale. Collection of Forrest L. Merrill. L2023.0601.026. Image courtesy of the SFO Museum
June Schwarcz (1918-2015), ‘Harlequin Hat Vessel (#2172),’ 2000. Electroformed copper foil, enamel, fire scale. Collection of Forrest L. Merrill. L2023.0601.026. Image courtesy of the SFO Museum

SAN FRANCISCO – From now until May 5, 2024, the SFO Museum is exhibiting June Schwarcz: Unconventional Enamels, a show of works by the groundbreaking artist. For more than 60 years, Schwarcz (1918-2015) made enameled art that pushed the boundaries of her craft. Inspired by nature and fashion, and also abstract, African and Asian art, Schwarcz developed unique metalworking techniques, always experimenting and embracing complex technical challenges. She initially worked with copper panels and spun-copper bowls, infusing them with her own interpretation of traditional enameling. During the 1960s, Schwarcz pioneered electroforming, an innovative method that involved electroplating pieces made from thin copper foil. She focused on sculptural vessels and when asked about her abstract forms, she explained, “they simply don’t hold water.”

Continue reading

Work of Arts & Crafts silversmith Clara Barck Welles on view at SFO Museum

Fluted compote, sterling silver, early 20th century, the Kalo Shop, Chicago. On loan from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art: Loan of Margo Grant Walsh, New York. L2021:24.5, L2023.0201.040. Courtesy of SFO Museum
Fluted compote, sterling silver, early 20th century, the Kalo Shop, Chicago. On loan from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art: Loan of Margo Grant Walsh, New York. L2021:24.5, L2023.0201.040. Courtesy of SFO Museum
Fluted compote, sterling silver, early 20th century, the Kalo Shop, Chicago. On loan from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art: loan of Margo Grant Walsh, New York. L2021:24.5, L2023.0201.040. Courtesy of SFO Museum

SAN FRANCISCO — A New Woman: Clara Barck Welles, Inspiration & Influence in Arts & Crafts Silver is on view at the SFO Museum until February 4, 2024.

Continue reading

SFO Museum shows how airlines wined and dined their elite customers

Left, China Airlines Blue Lotus Asian meal service set, 1970s, ceramic, wood, plastic. Sauce dish, soup spoon and chop sticks: gift of Thomas G. Dragges. Rice bowl, condiment dish and saucer: gift of Masako Matsuo. 2002.018.396, .399, .400, .403, .408, 2002.035.859 a b, 2012.061.096–.098 L2022.1101.119, .121–.124, .126–.128, .137; Right, China Airlines first-class meal service promotional clipping, 1970s, paper, ink. Courtesy of Vincent Ma, R2022.1102.001.01
Left, China Airlines Blue Lotus Asian meal service set, 1970s, ceramic, wood, plastic. Sauce dish, soup spoon and chop sticks: gift of Thomas G. Dragges. Rice bowl, condiment dish and saucer: gift of Masako Matsuo. 2002.018.396, .399, .400, .403, .408, 2002.035.859 a b, 2012.061.096–.098 L2022.1101.119, .121–.124, .126–.128, .137; Right, China Airlines first-class meal service promotional clipping, 1970s, paper, ink. Courtesy of Vincent Ma, R2022.1102.001.01

SAN FRANCISCO – Through June 26, the SFO Museum will present More than a Meal: Airline Meal Service Sets, 1960s–80s, an exhibition on how airlines competed for, and pampered, their elite customers with top-notch food and drink, presented on custom-commissioned fine china and flatware services.

Continue reading

SFO Museum’s SST show lauds revolutionary airplane’s legacy

American Airlines Boeing 2707 SST model aircraft, circa 1970. Scale 1:72, plastic, metal, paint. Collection of Anthony J. Lawler, L2022.1702.002
American Airlines Boeing 2707 SST model aircraft, circa 1970. Scale 1:72, plastic, metal, paint. Collection of Anthony J. Lawler, L2022.1702.002
American Airlines Boeing 2707 SST model aircraft, circa 1970. Scale 1:72, plastic, metal, paint. Collection of Anthony J. Lawler, L2022.1702.002

SAN FRANCISCO — The SFO Museum is now presenting Supersonic Transport: The First Generation, an exhibition on the legacy of the first-generation SSTs (supersonic transports) through aircraft models, airline flight attendant uniforms, meal service sets, photographs, and video excerpts from the 1976 British Airways promotional motion picture Transatlantic Supersonic. It of course features the one SST that gained enduring global fame — the Concorde — and displays models for rival planes that never came to be. Supersonic Transport: The First Generation is on view through November 12.

Continue reading

Heyday of Japonisme revisited at SFO Museum

Footed dish, 1880. Dominick & Haff, New York, sterling silver, mixed metal. Private collection, RT19. L2022.0403.016

 

Footed dish, 1880. Dominick & Haff, New York, sterling silver, mixed metal. Private collection, RT19. L2022.0403.016

Footed dish, 1880. Dominick & Haff, New York, sterling silver, mixed metal. Private collection, RT19. L2022.0403.016

SAN FRANCISCO — Japonisme: A Passion for Japan, on view at the SFO Museum until April 2, 2023, features Japanese decorative arts made in the United States and Europe from the 1870s-1890s, all of which reflect an early and remarkable example of international cultural exchange between Japan and the West.

Continue reading

SFO Museum devotes show to California women artists

Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum

 

Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum
Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum

SAN FRANCISCO – The SFO Museum is currently showing California Modernist Women: Groundbreaking Creativity, an exhibition of pieces by 20th-century women artists who lived and worked in the state. The show continues through April 30, 2023.

Continue reading

SFO Museum focuses on ‘Antique Scientific Instruments’

Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b

Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b
Geissler tube rotator [with modern tube], late 19th century. James W. Queen & Company, Philadelphia, brass, mahogany, lacquer, glass, resin, iron, wire. Courtesy of Mark McElyea. L2021.1301.004a–b
SAN FRANCISCO – Curiosity & Discovery: Antique Scientific Instruments explores the beauty and allure of the tools scientists have used to learn more about our world. The exhibition mounted by the SFO Museum will run through April 3, 2022.

Continue reading

SFO exhibit reveals the beauty of ‘Mathematics’

Real part of the Weierstrass elliptic p-function, c. 1880s–90s. L. Brill Germany, plaster. Courtesy of the Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley. L2021.0913.002
Real part of the Weierstrass elliptic p-function, c. 1880s–90s. L. Brill Germany, plaster. Courtesy of the Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley. L2021.0913.002
Real part of the Weierstrass elliptic p-function, c. 1880s–90s. L. Brill Germany, plaster. Courtesy of the Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley. L2021.0913.002

SAN FRANCISCO — Like music, mathematics is a universal language—understood and used in every culture, civilization, and school. And just as music is much more than notes, math is far more than numbers. Mathematics: Vintage and Modern, an SFO Museum exhibit that opened on July 31 and continues through May 1, 2022 in San Francisco International Airport, features objects from the past. It also highlights teaching tools that help students learn arithmetic, geometry, and calculus, as well as vintage children’s toys and games.

Continue reading

SFO Museum devotes show to studio glass pioneer Marvin Lipofsky

‘Russian Group #5,’ 2006-7, Marvin Lipofsky, (1938-2016). Mold-blown glass; cut, sandblasted, and acid polished. Blown at the 1st International Symposium of Art Glass, Gus-Khrustalny, Russia, with help from Vladimir Zakharov and Boris Arbusov. Courtesy of Marvin Lipofsky Studio.
‘Russian Group #5,’ 2006-7, Marvin Lipofsky, (1938-2016). Mold-blown glass; cut, sandblasted, and acid polished. Blown at the 1st International Symposium of Art Glass, Gus-Khrustalny, Russia, with help from Vladimir Zakharov and Boris Arbusov. Courtesy of Marvin Lipofsky Studio.
‘Russian Group #5,’ 2006-7, Marvin Lipofsky, (1938-2016). Mold-blown glass; cut, sandblasted, and acid polished. Blown at the 1st International Symposium of Art Glass, Gus-Khrustalny, Russia, with help from Vladimir Zakharov and Boris Arbusov. Courtesy of Marvin Lipofsky Studio.

SAN FRANCISCO — Marvin Lipofsky (1938–2016) was a founding member of the American studio glass movement. Throughout his career, Lipofsky explored the limits of form and color in glass and helped to elevate the medium to a fine art. The SFO Museum will present Marvin Lipofsky: International Studio Glass from August 14 through September 25, 2022. It will be located pre-security in the International Terminal in the Departures Level in the San Francisco International Airport, and will be accessible to ticketed passengers and the general public.

Continue reading