Did you know that legendary artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were stirring up the San Francisco art scene in the 1930s? You've heard of the movement-for-change that characterized Berkeley in the 1960s, but what about the now-famous art scene that was erupting at UC Davis?
Weaving together art and ephemera from the collections of both the Oakland Museum of California and SFMOMA, Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California illuminates local histories and social forces that changed the face of art and society in the Golden State over the last century.
The new exhibit tells the stories of four creative communities at decisive moments in the history of California: the circle of artists who worked with, influenced, and were influenced by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in San Francisco in the 1930s; the legendary painters and photographers associated with the California School of Fine Arts in the 1940s and 1950s, including Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Minor White, and Imogen Cunningham; the free-spirited faculty and students at UC Davis in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Robert Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, William T. Wiley, and Bruce Nauman; and the streetwise, uncompromisingly idealistic artists at the center of a vibrant new Mission scene that took root in the 1990s through the present, including Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Amy Franceschini, Ruby Neri, Alicia McCarthy, and Rigo 23, along with many others.
With masterpieces from each of the four moments in history (including Frida's famous self portrait with Diego), the exhibit takes a look at California's constantly-evolving art scene and the role that local legends have played.
Scroll through the images above to see some of the art works we're most excited about in the new show.
Runs September 20, 2014–April 12, 2015 at the Oakland Museum of California. 1000 Oak Street, Oakland
