"Ruth Asawa: Retrospective" April 5 - Sept 2, 2025

This first posthumous retrospective presents the full range of Ruth Asawa’s work and its inspirations over six decades of her career. As an artist, Asawa forged a groundbreaking practice through her ceaseless exploration of materials and forms. As an educator and civic leader, Asawa’s impact on San Francisco can still be felt today.

Take in the breadth and depth of Asawa’s creative practice.

You’ll find many of her signature suspended looped- and tied-wire sculptures alongside lesser-known works, including a selection of her sculptural “miniatures” — the smallest measuring just over one inch in diameter. From vibrant drawings and paintings to clay masks and cast bronze sculptures, more than 300 works give insight into Asawa’s relentlessly experimental vision.

Discover her deep connection to San Francisco.

A gallery that evokes the living room of Asawa’s longtime Noe Valley home opens with the artist’s hand-carved redwood doors, and features cases of her sketchbooks, art by friends that she kept on display, and a rich array of the sculptures that once hung from her ceiling. Archival materials show how Asawa shaped her adopted hometown through numerous public commissions and her dedication to arts education.

Participate in keeping her legacy alive.

We’ve built an oral history recording booth where you can share and discover community connections to the artist and her work. Live her values through one of the many events we have planned, including programs featuring a garden inspired by Asawa’s own and built by Habitat Horticulture on our Floor 4 terrace.

Check back often! Programs will continue to be added to our events calendar throughout the exhibition’s run.

This is a surcharged exhibition, $33-42 for visitors 19 and over. Visitors 18 and under and members are always free. Read the FAQ webpage for more details.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States and a thriving cultural center for the Bay Area. Its remarkable collection of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design and media arts is housed in a LEED Gold-certified building designed by the global architects Snøhetta and Mario Botta. In addition to seven gallery floors, SFMOMA currently offers more than 45,000 square feet of free art-filled public space open to all.