The recently redesigned San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA) is an absolute delight to visit. While the seven floors and high-entry admission ($19 for a Young Adult, 19-24 year-old ticket) may seem intimidating, the world you enter is worth braving the cost. We started the day on the seventh floor, working our way down through the building lovingly expanded by Norwegian collaborative architectural workshop Snøhetta. SF MOMA has been around as a Bay Area icon since it was the San Francisco Museum of Art, founded in 1935, but in recent years it was under construction until its highly anticipated reveal in May 2016.
A perfect melding of art and the city, the newly expanded and renovated SF MOMA building on 3rd Street rises proudly into the city and exhibits views of the city encircling it, much the way it displays the art -- large, picturesque windows structured by geometric wooden frames display the surrounding architecture. The museum and the city are fused by the redesign, firmly placing this Museum of Modern Art within San Francisco. Numerous viewing decks and outdoor sculpture walks further allow the beauty and bay breezes of the city to arrest the museum-goers. Unlike other museums that function as hushed pockets of space designed to enclose you in a different historical period, SF MOMA centers you in the now by throwing its walls open to the vibrant life of the city.
Each floor of the museum is a short, delightful tour, with tall white walls allowing the often brightly-colored artwork to pop in the space. Notable is Takeshi Murata's "Melter 3-D," a slowly rotating metallic sculpture that is made to look as though it is melting through optical illusion.
Every display has obviously been carefully curated, with long artist biographies painted onto the walls and further explanation of the artist's inspirations for their works, available on the beautifully designed and informative SF MOMA app. Those who are skeptical of modern art will discover a new appreciation for it as they move through this space; the depth and true artistry of each work shines through SF MOMA's collection.
Claiming the big names like Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Wayne Thiebaud, Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams, one man moving through the collections muttered that the museum felt like a "greatest hits album." The quick gallery walks could feel like a taster, but with entire rooms full of works by Chuck Close, Ellsworth Kelly, Gerhard Richter and many more, SF MOMA is an overall feast of modern art.
There is a vibrancy to SF MOMA, coming not only from the clean lines and bright color palettes of the art, but also exuding from the brilliant marriage of the present rushing world to modern art. The famed living wall is a testament to this vibrancy -- the noise of the city touches you in this outdoor patio space, as the explosion of green textures fills your vision. The galleries of the second and third floor open to the sound and movement of the people below, showing that this museum is centered in the dreams and inspirations of modern people, including the very museum-goers themselves, who become art as they move through the space.
Challenging, sociable and intuitive, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a delightful spot to while away your day and feel inspired by beautiful works of art. The creativity and innovation of modern artists is truly a marvel, and the SF MOMA building itself adds immensely to the pleasure of the overall experience. If you have a free day, please visit this newly reopened San Francisco jewel -- you won't regret it.