As if in a Dream: History, Fantasy, Future

These artworks started from a kernel of reality, glimmer of lived experience, or sliver of memory. Like dreams, they combine real and familiar elements but in illogical or uncanny ways. With works from the Museum’s collection supplemented by loans, this exhibition shows artists giving fleeting memories durable form, envisioning a future, and transforming the everyday into the visionary. Spread across the McCormick, Wasserman Family, and Davidson Galleries, and predominantly featuring collection items with a few special loans, the presentation is divided into two sections: landscapes and bodies (mostly human).

This exhibition features works by Rodolfo Abularach, Alice Baber, Roger Brown, Dominic Chambers, Edward Chávez, Rafael Coronel, Daniel Crews-Chubb, Jules de Balincourt, Marsden Hartley, Alexei Jawlensky, Max Hooper Schneider, Wifredo Lam, Dave McDermott, Mimi Lauter, Wright Ludington, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Jorge Pardo, Patricia Peco, Howardena Pindell, Lari Pitman, Kenneth Price, Odilon Redon, Alison Saar, Fernando de Szyszlo, Tom Wudl, Brenna Youngblood, among others.

SBMA cordially invites you to the celebratory reception for three upcoming exhibitions: As if in a Dream: History, Fantasy, Future; Remixed: Entwined Histories and New Forms; and RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY: Internet Art on March 21, 2026, 6 – 8 PM. Tickets are available here.

A special performance by Porfirio Gutiérrez will open the party on the Museum’s front terrace, and an interactive weaving installation, photobooth, and DJ will entertain you through the evening. 21+. Cash bar.