Artists in Residence: San Jose's 20th-Century Vanguard

Exhibition Website

Mar 11 2016 - Sep 18 2016

By the 1960s, San Jose was in the midst of rapid-fire transition from a small agricultural community to a sprawling metropolis. The tech industry was swelling, and by the end of the decade the population had grown five-fold. This era also brought to town a new, innovative community of artists, many of whom were recruited from across the country by San Jose State College (now San Jose State University). Fresh from top graduate schools and conversant with the radical artistic thinking of the time, this generation of artists brought new vitality and a proclivity for experimentation to town.

These forward-looking artists all lived or worked in San Jose. They were instrumental to the establishment of the San Jose Museum of Art in 1969, in the midst of the counterculture revolution, and are part of the history of this Museum in many ways. Artists in Residence pays tribute to an inspiring, dedicated, and especially influential generation of San Jose artists who helped ignite the contemporary artistic life of the city, founded its galleries and artistic spaces, and fostered generations of students, artists, and collectors.

Drawn exclusively from SJMA’s permanent collection, Artists in Residence Include works by Geoffrey Bowman, Rupert Garcia, Erin Goodwin-Guerrero, Sam Hernandez, Tony May, Gail Nanao, Harry Powers, Lynn Powers, Fred Spratt, and Jacqueline Thurston alongside new acquisitions by David Middlebrook and Stephen French. 

  • American
  • 20th Century
  • Group show

Exhibition Venues & Dates