Gallery Dedicated to Sculptor Ruth Asawa Will Open in San Francisco

Gallery Dedicated to Sculptor Ruth Asawa Will Open in San Francisco

A new gallery dedicated to the work ofRuth Asawa, a trailblazing modernist sculptor known for her organic-feeling, looped wire creations, will open in San Francisco in the spring, theSan Francisco Chroniclereports. The new venue will be in San Francisco’sMinnesota Street Project, a converted warehouse space that hosts galleries and arts nonprofits.

Born in rural California to Japanese immigrants in 1942, Asawa survived a period of detainment in a Rohwer, Arkansas incarceration camp before studying at Black Mountain College, where she honed her craft. She subsequently became a significant presence in the San Francisco art scene and a champion of community stewardship. Shemade art every day.

The gallery, Ruth Asawa Lanier Inc., will debut on May 9 with the exhibition “Ruth Asawa: Untitled.” The show is curated by the artist’s daughters, Aiko Cuneo and Addie Lanier, and will feature many characteristic pieces. Asawa’s descendants keep close watch over the artist’s legacy. 

“San Francisco was Asawa’s home for more than 60 years, during which time she developed a unique artistic language, raised her family and became a leading advocate for the arts and art education both locally and nationally,” Henry Weverka, Asawa’s grandson and president of the new gallery, told the Chronicle. “Opening a permanent space here in her adopted hometown seems like a wonderful way to celebrate her centennial for many years to come.”

Asawa’s work has been prominently exhibited for decades. Dating back to the 1950s, her art has been granted solo shows at New York’s Peridot Gallery, the Pasadena Art Museum, San Francisco’s de Young Museum and many others. In 2023, the Whitney Museum of American Art debuted “Ruth Asawa: Through Line.” An international and posthumous retrospective of Asawa’s prolific creations is currently on the move.