Letter Forms
Kurt Schwitters, Marae, 1936. Collage on light cardboard. SBMA Museum Purchase.
York Chang, Camino, 2023. Flashe paint, graphite, pastel on cut Japanese Kozo paper. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Contemporary Art Acquisitions Fund.
Pat Ward Williams, Jeremiah Wife's, 1996. Chromogenic print, ed. 3/10. SBMA, Gift of Dan and Jeanne Fauci.
Jiao Yi 矯毅, Finger Painting of Ancient Oxen, 1979. One in an album of 14 paintings. Gift of Kevin and Karen Baltazar, 1986.
The written word is usually used to explain or describe a work of art—but what happens when the words themselves become an image? This exhibition of 20th and 21st century works from SBMA’s permanent collection explores the ways in which artists transform words and characters by incorporating them into collages, prints, drawings, photographs, and sculpture. Employing not only the Roman alphabet used in English, but also Persian script and Chinese and Japanese characters, the artists in this exhibition push text beyond its usual denotative or descriptive function to create, alter, and question meaning.
- Galleries:Von Romberg,Emmons,
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