The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is pleased to announce the acquisition of 41 works by a diverse roster of 27 artists for its permanent collection. Acquired through purchase and gifts from generous donors from July 2021 to June 2022, SJMA continues to build momentum in its collecting strategy focusing on gender parity, cultural diversity, and artistic innovation, while proactively acquiring socially relevant contemporary art. 

“We are incredibly thrilled with these new additions to the permanent collection and this year’s acquisitions are exceptionally timely and monumental,” said S. Sayre Batton, Oshman Executive Director, SJMA. “I thank the Acquisitions Committee and curatorial team for their thoughtful strategy and their dedication to the Museum’s mission. I am especially grateful for our supporters and donors who entrust SJMA to care for and present these works to the people of San José and Silicon Valley.” 

This year’s acquisitions include a significant representation of California artists. Bay Area artists include Shiva Ahmadi, Jean Conner, Ala Ebtekar, Nicole Phungrasamee Fein, David Huffman, Hung Liu, Tony May, and Livien Yin. Many of these artists’ homegrown works address recent national and global events. Ahmadi’s video animation Ascend (2017) memorializes the life of Kurdish-Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi (2012–15), whose post-mortem image was widely-circulated in headlines and brought urgent attention to the Syrian civil war’s refugee crisis. Huffman’s Afrofuturist-inspired painting and collage AHMAUD (2021) honors the memory of Ahmaud Arbery and victims of anti-Black violence. Livien Yin’s After Washerwoman’s Lagoon calls attention to the lasting effects of anti-Asian sentiment and laws in the San Francisco Bay Area landscape from the late nineteenth century to the present. Los Angeles-based artists include Kelly Akashi, rafa esparza, Catherine Opie, Eamon Ore-Giron, and Analia Saban.  

Significant large-scale works include Felipe Baeza’s Emerging in difference (2022), currently on view in The Milk of Dreams, the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia; Huma Bhabha’s Receiver (2019), a towering 8-foot sculpture; Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Crowd No. 2 (1988); Sam Durant’s Proposal #2 for Monument at Altamont Raceway, Tracy, CA, (2003); and Tom Friedman’s Fuck It (2002). 

Additional artists include Chie Fueki, Paul Landacre, Dinh Q. Lê, John O’Reilly, Patricia Piccinini, Liliana Porter, Alyson Shotz, and Rose B. Simpson. For a list of recent acquisitions at SJMA, go to our collection database at sjmusart.org/embark. 

SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART 

The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum dedicated to inclusivity, new thinking, and visionary ideas. Founded in 1969 by artists and community leaders, its dynamic exhibitions, collection, and programs resonate with defining characteristics of San José and the Silicon Valley—from its rich diversity to its hallmark innovative ethos. The Museum offers lifelong learning for school children and their educators, multigenerational families, creative adults, university students and faculty, and community groups. SJMA is committed to being a borderless museum, essential to creative life throughout the diverse communities of San José and beyond. 

SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The Museum is open Thursday 4–9pm; Friday 11am–9pm; and Saturday through Sunday 11am to 6pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and free to members, college students, youth and children ages 17 and under, and school teachers (with valid ID). Admission is free from 6–9pm the first Friday of every month. For more information, call 408.271.6840 or visit SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.