San José Museum of Art

See what you think.

Initial Public Offering: New Works from SJMA’s Permanent Collection

  • A painting in muted white and grey tones of what appears to be a broken rotary cutter. A handle emerges from 5 o'clock, attached to a half circle with a full circle at the center.

    Jay DeFeo
    Three Mile Island #2, from the series “One O’clock Jump,” 1979.
    Mixed media, gouache, and ink on paper
    40 × 30 inches.

  • A painting of a woman in a red dress sitting on a white bench in front of a picture of 3 trees. Her arm lays on the arm rest. A white coffee table is in front of her. In the background is another room with a counter and cabinet.

    Clare Rojas
    Red Dress Lady in Living Room, 2009
    Gouache and latex on panel
    14 × 11 ¼ inches

  • A cardboard sculpture of a man with no head. The hands and feet are unusually large and disproportionate to its body. The arms, legs, and torso are covered with tassels (like a cowboy's). In between his legs is a round object, almost like a small pouch.

    Tim Hawkinson
    Scout, 2006–2007
    69 ½ × 103 × 68 inches
    Cardboard, box strapping and urethane foam
    Collection of the San Jose Museum of Art
    Gift of the Lipman Family Foundation
    2013.12

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    Silicon Valley, the innovation capital of the world, is no stranger to the IPO, or initial public offering. From early tech stalwart Hewlett-Packard to search giant Google to social networking hub Twitter, each company went public to great fanfare. “Going public” signals opportunities for future growth, expansion, and innovation. 

    This spring the San Jose Museum of Art goes public with a selection of exciting acquisitions from the last three years. Initial Public Offering marks the debut of various works in SJMA’s galleries. From Clare Rojas’s folk-inspired narrative paintings to Tim Hawkinson’s cardboard and urethane foam sculpture Scout (2006-2007)—the artist’s absurdly humorist take on the human figure—the works in this exhibition signal a bold, new direction for SJMA’s permanent collection.

    Initial Public Offering presents works that exemplify SJMA’s surprising and playful take on the art of our time. Displayed for the first time at the museum will be the entirety of Stephanie Syjuco’s expansive installation, The International Orange Commemorative Store (A Proposition) (2012). Originally commissioned by the FOR-SITE Foundation for the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, Syjuco’s faux store features a vast array of the usual souvenir gift shop find—pencils, mugs, buttons, keychains, and countless other trinkets—all saturated in the Bridge’s iconic orange color. Also on view will be Alan Rath’s Absolutely (2012), a fifteen-foot-tall robotic sculpture with pheasant feathers. Activated by movement and heat, the sculpture comes alive with a dance that seems improvisational. 

    Take stock in Initial Public Offering by leaving us your thoughts about, responses to, and photos of the works you found most interesting, exciting, or downright confusing. Upload your comments and images our social media handles: Facebook: SanJoseMuseumofArt; Twitter: @sjmusart; and Instagram: @seewhatyouthink.

    Works in the exhibition

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