Exhibition Spotlight: “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built”
Photo: Josef Alef, Untitled, 2021. Purchase by Exchange, Through a Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Honig
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Creative Growth, the Oakland-based nonprofit serving artists with disabilities, have partnered on a groundbreaking show on view through October 6. Last fall, the museum announced its acquisition of 100-plus works by Creative Growth artists. “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built” opened in April with about 80 pieces by 11 artists: Joseph Alef, Camille Holvoet, Susan Janow, Dwight Mackintosh, John Martin, Dan Miller, Donald Mitchell, Judith Scott, William Scott, Ron Veasey and Alice Wong.
“To my knowledge, there is no other similar group of work in a major contemporary museum composed entirely of work by artists with disabilities,” says Tom di Maria, director emeritus of Creative Growth. “The very fact that the work is organized this way—not ‘outsider’ or ‘other’—sets it apart as a contemporary collection.” The exhibition program, which commemorates Creative Growth’s 50th anniversary, also includes a commission by William Scott on the second floor.