MORE THAN 700 YEARS

More Than 700 Years, the title of the 2019 SFAI Faculty Exhibition, springs from the summation of time invested by each participating faculty member: an amalgam of years of activity both in the studio and in the classroom. In this way, the showcase is an intersection of artistic labor, education, and dedication.

With so much happening at SFAI during the academic year, More Than 700 Years is an opportunity to stop, catch our breath, and appreciate the brilliant and diverse collective of teaching artists at SFAI. Audiences may have gotten a peek at the featured artists’ studio practices or visited their shows in galleries, but it is rare to see their work showcased together, as a community. This exhibition is the reboot of a lost tradition of faculty exhibitions at SFAI, and a fresh approach to it as well.

Spanning both campuses, More Than 700 Years manifests a robust ecology of ideas, aesthetics, and mediums, emphasizing the heterogeneity of the teaching community. As a survey it also reflects the landscape of art in the Bay Area; an expansive and shifting terrain that offers provocative vantage points on contemporary lines of inquiry, from analysis of technology and media, to dystopian speculations, to rich political commentary.

The work in these galleries represents a rich slice of the artistic and pedagogical talent that SFAI concentrates. The combination of the time each artist has spent honing their craft—as artists and mentors—scaffolds the rise of more talent, enabling the long chain of SFAI students and alumni who continue to clear new paths in contemporary art in this city and beyond.

More Than 700 Years includes 28 artists:

At SFAI—Fort Mason Campus: Johnna Arnold, Elizabeth Bernstein, Timothy Berry, Brad Brown, Luke Butler, James Claussen, Kerry Laitala, Mads Lynnerup, Felicita Norris, Jordan Reznick, Kate Rhoades, and Meredith Tromble.

At the Walter and McBean Galleries: Chris Bell, Mark Brest van Kempen, Caitlin Mitchell-Dayton, Linda Connor, Sofía Córdova, John de Fazio, Ivan Iannoli, Tony Labat, Ryan Peter, J. John Priola, Brett Reichman, Kal Spelletich, Leila Weefur, Lindsey White, and Wanxin Zhang.

More Than 700 Years was organized by San Francisco Art Institute and curated by Ángel Rafael Vázquez-Concepción. Special thanks to SFAI President Gordon Knox; Vice President of Operations and Facilities Heather Hickman Holland; Manager of Exhibitions, Events, and Partnerships Kat Trataris; and Chief Preparator Robin Beard. 

SFAI’s Exhibitions and Public Programs are made possible by the generosity of donors and sponsors. Program support in 2018-19 is provided by the Harker Fund of The San Francisco Foundation, Institute of Museums and Library Services, Grants for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Work Fund, Koret Foundation, Pirkle Jones Fund, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, and Fort Point Beer Company. Ongoing support is provided by the McBean Distinguished Lecture and Residency Fund, The Buck Fund, and the Visiting Artist Fund of the SFAI Endowment. 

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