I like how the new Austere exhibit at SFMOMA takes its name quite literally even in the exhibition design, as the room appears almost empty except for some prints hanging on the walls and Simon Ungers's rusted-steel architectural models standing somberly on plinths. Only three artists were selected from the permanent collection -- Bernd and Hilla Becher, Thomas Ruff, and Unger -- and even though I know the museum owns plenty more similarly stripped-down work I appreciated the chance to meditate on these select pieces. The Bechers' photographs of water towers never fail to make me smile, and I also liked Ruff's quartet of almost-identical images of Mies van der Rohe's reconstructed Barcelona Pavilion, three of them digitally altered and one of them not. It was Unger's work that was a revelation to me, however, the physical weight of the buildings in his architectural renderings and models paying tribute to the passage of time in a way that I normally associate with Richard Serra. Assistant curator Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher will be speaking about Unger's project Silent Architecture in March as part of SFMOMA's new One on One series of curator talks, which sound like an excellent addition to Thursday evenings at the museum.
As for tonight, if you're looking for something to do in the city I have two suggestions:
- Opening at the always-fabulous Gallery 16: Equivalents: The Work of Elliot Anderson. I fell instantly in love with Anderson's dream-like landscapes when I first saw them in Gallery 16's old space on 16th Street, and I'm eager to see what he's included in this show.
- Reading from his new novel The Women at Books Inc.: T.C. Boyle! Frank Lloyd Wright's relationships, as imagined and interpreted by Boyle? Sign me up.