Lasting Joy: Asawa Family Selections

For Ruth Asawa, art was woven into the fabric of family life, and the joy of creating together continues to live on in her family today.

This exhibition brings together twenty life cast masks of Asawa’s family members along with their favorite Asawa artwork and a description of why they chose it. The selections range from the playful and unexpected–including a surfboard, jewelry, and a giant Celastic head–to rarely seen sketchbooks, paintings, and wire sculptures, offering a glimpse into the many ways Asawa’s work continues to resonate with those closest to her.

Together, these twenty faces and twenty artwork selections offer an intimate record of Asawa’s lasting influence on her family. Written in their own words, shared stories provide a close and loving look at Asawa through the eyes of the people who knew her best.

As a mother and grandmother, I expected my six children and ten grandchildren to participate in the making of art as well as washing the dishes, taking the garbage out, weeding the garden, and building things. They have helped me on commissions and continue today to work with me on projects. Although most of them do not earn their living as artists, their lives have been made far richer because of this involvement. I believe in the lasting joy that making art can bring to all of us. –Ruth Asawa, 2001

Hours
Tuesday – Saturday; 11AM-4PM
Sunday – Monday; Closed

Photo: Untitled (S.783, Hanging Miniature Five-Lobed, Interlocking Continuous Form within a Form with Interior Spheres), c. 1968 copper wire
Artwork © 2026 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc., Courtesy David Zwirner